


Chasing After You || Itachi

by FallenAmor



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAmor/pseuds/FallenAmor
Summary: Tora Dakuo moved to Konoha with her mother when she was five years old, with no recollection of her previous memories. Ever since her academy days, she had admired Itachi Uchiha from afar, even though she knew of his girlfriend - Izumi. When Itachi fled the village, she couldn't believe the reports, despite what the village was saying. Desperate, Tora set her mind on bringing him back, but when new revelations arise, who is she really chasing after?© Copyright 2019. FallenAmorDisclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the character or the tv show, movies, or anything associated to it. I just own my character and my story line.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. So He Has A Girlfriend

Sigh.

Tora laid her head down on the smooth wood of her academy desk. As her instructor droned on and on about the history of chakra, she couldn’t help but zone out. It was so hot inside the Academy, so she could only imagine how it felt outside. The only thing she could hope at this point was that Sensei would let them out early, because now was as good a time as any to take a nap.

It seemed like the teacher was reading her mind; well, either that or he was tired of wiping the sweat off his brow one too many times. Once he dismissed their class and left the room, Tora sat up and stretched. On the other side of the room, she could hear a bit of commotion. Darn it, she was too slow today. Turning her head, she watched as a couple females crowded around Itachi Uchiha, the top of their class and a member of one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, and literally followed him out the door. Sheesh, the least they could do was fan him since they were radiating all that heat around him.

As she watched him leave, she let out a small regretful sigh. As much as she wanted to give him his personal space since it was so hot outside, she also wanted to be in that crowd in hopes that he noticed her. After all, he was the one who comforted her when she needed a friend; but the question was, did he remember that? Lost in her thoughts about the pretty Uchiha, she didn’t realize that her best friend had come up behind her until one of her pigtails was yanked. Frightened, Tora jumped out of her seat and landed on the desk on her hands and feet, baring her sharp canines at the perpetrator.

“Are you ready to go now?” Hana Inuzuka was standing by the desk, smiling guiltlessly. She brushed her short, brown hair out of her face as the ends stuck to her damp neck. How she was still wearing that heavy orange coat in this heat, Tora just couldn’t understand. “I’ve been calling your name for the past five minutes. Let’s go to my house and eat popsicles.”

Tora closed her mouth and pouted for a moment before getting off the desk. “So you pulled my hair? Hana Inuzuka is a bully.” She teased her friend with a smile as she skipped out the room with Hana at her heels.

“Am not! You know, you should really pay attention more. You had your head down most of class.” The Inuzuka mentioned as they left the Academy building.

Tora groaned, already annoyed with the conversation. Hana loved to study, whereas she liked doing things that were actually interesting. Listening to a lecture on the history of chakra for the fifth time in a row was not on her list of interests. “I’m trying to figure out how you can pay attention!” She leaned closer to the female and lowered her voice, as if someone around them was actually paying attention to their conversation. “You sit right next to the Itachi Uchiha. How are you not melting in his presence?”

Hana blushed, looking away from the female. “Well, um…” When her cheeks were almost as red as the Inuzuka clan markings on her cheeks, she pushed Tora away and took off running to her house, yelling. “Fine! Don’t come over!” Tora laughed and followed after her, chasing her through the streets of Konoha.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Hana and Tora sat on the front steps of the Inuzuka household, each eating a semi-melted popsicle and trying their hardest not to let the sticky juices get all over their hands. Hana opted for a sweet strawberry popsicle, whereas Tora bit into a sour lemon one. There was laughter coming from inside the house, no doubt from their mothers as the two women had become very close friends over the years.

“They’ll wake Kiba-kun if they laugh any louder.” Tora commented as she ate another bite of her popsicle, causing Hana to giggle. The said baby was supposedly fast asleep in his crib on the second floor of the home. Since they didn’t hear any crying, they assumed he was still asleep.

The Inuzuka turned to her friend as she finished off her popsicle. “How come you get the same popsicle flavor every time you come over to my house? Are lemons your favorite food?”

Tora smiled at her friend. “You know what my favorite food is - beef kushiyaki. Especially when your mom makes it!” She ate the last bite of her popsicle and licked the stick clean. “I usually get the lemon ones cause I can’t taste anything sweet. It ends up tasting like sandpaper, so I’d rather eat the sour ones since they taste like something.”

“Ah…” Hana nodded in understanding.

“Brats! Get in here!” The head of the Inuzuka clan called. The two girls exchanged glances of curiosity before heading into the house before she could call them again. Inside the house, Hana’s mother, Tsume, and Tora’s mother, Aoneko, sat at the kitchen table. Tsume’s companion, Kuromaru, laid down beside Tsume’s chair, resting.

Tsume Inuzuka and Aoneko Dakuo were the definition of polar opposites. The Inuzuka was a loud, short-tempered woman with unkempt, dark brown hair, intimidating eyes, and a strong sense of empowerment. Aoneko, however, was a sweet-tempered, graceful woman with neat, shoulder-length charcoal gray hair and warm, amber eyes. Despite their appearances and outward demeanors, the two tokubetsu jonin were quite a team and often shocked their fellow Konoha shinobi with how well they worked together. Even in the midst of Tsume’s attitudes, Aoneko knew how to handle the Inuzuka and maintain their close friendship.

Tsume eyed the two girls with a wild smile. “Ah, I never thought I’d see the day when cats and dogs came together. How are your studies going?”

“They’re going well. They let us out early because it was so hot.” Hana answered with a smile. “Tora was busy taking cat naps during class.”

“Hey!” Tora fumed, glaring at Hana for having such a big mouth. “I do pretty good in school regardless! I’m still passing!”

Tsume smirked. “Just passing? Neglecting your studies, are you?” Although she was smiling, her demeanor spoke otherwise and sent chills down Tora’s body. The poor child swallowed whatever saliva was left over from her progressively drying mouth and faced the Inuzuka head.

“N-no, ma’am!”

Aoneko covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. “Don’t be like that, Tsume. They’re just being kids.” The female waved her daughter over and gave the child a hug, saving her from the Inuzuka’s wrath.

“You’re always being a pacifist.” Tsume rolled her eyes. A loud cry sounded from upstairs, signaling that Kiba was now awake. Hana immediately went upstairs to see about her little brother and Tora slipped out of her mother’s grasp, following behind her best friend.

The rest of the night was spent in laughter as the two Dakuo members stayed for dinner. Not too long after a little down time from eating, Hana was asleep, sprawled across the couch with a sleeping Kiba on her chest. Tora was sitting up against the couch on the floor in the same state. Tsume and Aoneko took a look at the kids before looking at each other and laughing.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

“Alright class, we’re going to go ahead and split off into our separate sections. The boys will go out to the practice field and the girls will stay here in the classroom.”

Tora laid her head in her arms and watched out of one eye as the boys got up, leaving the classroom. Sensei had stopped Itachi and held him back from the line. Once all the boys were gone, Itachi followed Sensei out the door, heading in the opposite direction as everyone else. Curious, she wanted to leave the classroom and follow them, however the next Sensei appeared, stopping her plans at the root.

“Who’s ready to learn the art of ikebana?” The new sensei smiled. “I want everyone to move seats so you can get to know each other. After all, kunoichi have to stick together, am I right? I already have the new seating chart so you don’t have to worry about sitting with friends!”

Collective groans were all that could be heard in the room as new seats were announced. Tora was chosen to sit in the seat that had originally belonged to Itachi Uchiha, much to her pleasure. Planting her butt in the seat, she relished in the feeling of being one step closer to her crush and ignored the ominous glares from the other females in the room. Hana smiled at her best friend as she was moved to the seat behind Tora, which actually wasn’t too bad. The seat beside Tora was empty, which was fine by her, until a female sat down in the vacancy. Her long brown hair was secured in a ponytail.

“Hi, I’m Izumi Uchiha. I hope we can work well together.” The girl smiled at her. Tora looked at the girl, her eyes widening slightly when she mentioned the name Uchiha. There was another Uchiha in her class? Her attention had been so focused on Itachi, she hadn’t seemed to notice it before.

“Yeah, sure. I’m Tora Dakuo.” Tora responded. It didn’t matter to her whether this Izumi girl was a Uchiha or not, because at the end of the day, there were a lot of Uchihas in Konohagakure so chances were that they probably weren’t close. Also, she never saw the two hang out before so she still had a chance. Turning her head, she laid it back down in her arms and looked out the window. As the new Sensei spoke, she wondered what Itachi was doing.

“Itachi-chan is taking his graduation test.” A voice whispered. Tora immediately turned her head to the source of it - the girl next to her. Was she wondering out loud like an idiot? Wait… Itachi-chan?

Tora frowned as the girl looked back at her innocently, as if the information was common knowledge. Before she could question the female’s validity, their Sensei had interrupted their conversation and grabbed a hold of the students’ attention to the flowers that appeared in the front of the classroom.

Once school was over, the students began leaving out the classroom, ready to go home. Hana was about to do the same when Tora grabbed her arm and told her to hush. The brunette furrowed her brows, but followed her friend’s lead anyway. Tora motioned for her to come along and began moving. The target of her eye was her seatmate for kunoichi lessons - Izumi Uchiha. While the female walked through the streets of Konoha, Tora made sure to keep her distance behind the unsuspecting girl as she followed, dragging poor Hana behind her.

After a while, Tora and Hana ended up in a tree, looking down at Izumi and Itachi sitting together by the lakeside. The two looked close, even going as far as sharing dango. Tora tried to listen in on their conversation, but she could only pick up bits and pieces, whereas Hana was completely lost.

“They look pretty close, don’t you think?” Hana asked as she sat down, her feet dangling off the branch of the tree. Tora’s heart sank out of her chest as she crouched down next to her friend, holding onto the branch with her hands. She didn’t respond as she continued watching the two. Itachi had his hitai-ate, signifying that he had graduated only a year into the Academy and by the looks of it, he had a girlfriend too. How did she not see this? Did she miss the signs? Who was this Izumi girl?

“-ra? Earth to Tora?” 

The female blinked as she noticed Hana’s hand waving in front of her face. Turning her head, she faced her best friend. “Sorry. I spaced out.” Tora responded sheepishly. When she glanced back, Itachi was leaving with some boy, possibly his new teammate and Izumi was waving him off with a smile.

“Wanna go to my house and eat popsicles?” Hana smiled at her.

Tora tilted her head in thought before smiling. “Yeah, I’ll take a lemon one.” The six year old waited for Izumi to leave before jumping down from the tree and landing on all fours. She stood and waited for Hana to follow. After a few moments, she looked around confused. Where did her best friend go? Looking up at the tree, she noticed Hana hugging the trunk, still seated on the branch. “What’s wrong, Hana?”

“...I don’t know how to get down.”


	2. Operation Get Closer

“If you don’t beat him, you’re not eating tonight, brat!”

Tora clenched her fists as she stared down her opponent. The male in front of her smirked as the sun caught on his two week old hitai-ate. He crouched down onto all fours, positioned to lunge at her again. “Ready for me, Tora?” His name was Ashi Inuzuka, a cousin of Hana and Kiba who lived towards the back of the Inuzuka compound. Recently, he graduated from the Academy at age twelve. His companion, Shiromaru, was comfortably lying under a tree next to a portable water bowl and gazing at the two humans in front of him.

The ten year old female crouched on all fours as well, mimicking his position. She didn’t respond, so the male took that as his cue to continue the spar. Tora opted to stay towards the ground, giving her an advantage to use her speed to its utmost ability. When given an opening, she threw her arm out and swiped at the older boy’s body. Instead of going for his torso like he thought, she swiped at his face and snatched off his hitai-ate while leaving a deep scratch mark down the side of his face. Shiromaru immediately jumped up and ran over, barking at the little girl.

“That’s it! Let ‘em have it!” Tsume smirked as Tora held up the headband victoriously. Assuming she had won, she let her guard down and didn’t expect Ashi to tackle her to the ground, wrestling her in order to retrieve his hitai-ate.

It had been three years since Tora found out that her crush had a girlfriend. Trying her hardest not to be disheartened, she focused on hanging out with her best friend instead. No matter how hard she tried to push it away, she still liked Itachi Uchiha. She didn’t really talk to Izumi outside of class, nor did she feel a reason to. In a couple months, they would be able to take the graduation test so the female was excited as she was trying to make sure she passed so she could see Itachi more.

“Get offa me!” Tora hissed once she recovered from having the wind knocked out of her lungs. As she laid on her back with Ashi on top of her, she clawed at his face repeatedly. Once Ashi got a hold of his hitai-ate, he clambered off of her, tying it back overtop his forehead and feeling the scratch marks that littered his face.

Tsume walked over to the two with her hands on her hips. She stared down at Tora before flicking the child in her forehead, causing the girl to cry out in pain. “You never let your guard down until you know the fight is finished and your opponent is down. Go with Ashi to the clinic.”

“Do I still get to eat?” Tora asked as she rubbed her slightly bruised forehead. Tsume ignored her question and turned around to walk back inside the house. The little girl huffed and turned around, heading towards the clinic with Ashi at her heels.

Ashi pet the top of her head with his signature smirk. “Don’t worry, kid. She’s not gonna let you starve. Your speed was pretty impressive. If you want to get faster, you should start practicing with weights.”

Tora swatted at his hand and fixed her hair. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” Ashi laughed at her response, but Tora’s pout stayed etched on her face. The Inuzuka matriarch was usually pretty set with the things she said, so she might not be eating tonight after all.

When the duo reached the clinic, they stepped inside and walked past the receptionist with small waves of acknowledgment. Once they reached the last room on the right, Tora knocked on the door. Given the okay to go in, she slid the door open and walked inside. The room was a clean lab used to create medicine. Aoneko was standing behind the lab bench in her medic garb and her hair tied back in a low, short ponytail. She greeted the children with a soft smile before walking over and inspecting their scratches and bruises.

“You really did a number on his face, Tora.” Aoneko examined the shallow scratches littering the boy’s face, then moved to the much deeper gash along the side of his face. “Honestly, next time you two should go to a shinobi clinic. This is an animal hospital.” She sighed before standing up straight and pulling Ashi to an empty lab stool. “Hana, get me the first aid kid and salve.” 

Hana appeared in the doorway with the requested items, dawning her own medical garb, and brought them to Aoneko. Although Tora’s mother was a gifted medical ninjutsu user, her daughter had no interest in medicine, nor did she show any signs of inheriting her mother’s exceptional talent. However, Hana was very much interested in the subject and begged the female to let her study from her.

As Aoneko cleaned up Ashi’s wounds, Tora looked around the lab in disinterest. She simply couldn’t understand why her mother and best friend liked to be cooped up inside four walls all day long. Since Tora’s wounds were minor, Hana handed her an ice pack for her bruises.

“You really like it here?” Tora scrunched up her nose as she held the ice pack to the side of her left bicep where Ashi had grabbed her before. “It smells like nothing but chemicals in here. It’s nauseating.”

Hana giggled as she closed the medical kit on the counter and turned back to her best friend. “That’s a good thing and yes, I do.”

“Let’s go out.” Tora smiled, her two pigtails bouncing around her face energetically as she moved away from the counter. “I want to go for a walk before dinner.” Hana turned to Tora’s mother, who nodded in approval, before running out to put her medical garb away. Once she came back, the two left the building before anything else could’ve been said to them.

The two females walked through Konoha with Tora describing her spar animatedly to Hana. Their footsteps lead them to the far side of the village, where the Uchiha compound was. Looking up at the entryway, Hana nearly rolled her eyes as she figured out what Tora was really doing.

“Let’s go. Dinner’s probably ready by now.” Hana turned around, but Tora quickly grabbed her friend’s arm and ushered her down the street.

“Not so fast. This will be quick!” Tora grinned as she tugged the less-enthusiastic Inuzuka. The two wandered through the compound as many people around them were either finishing their shopping at the markets or catching up with friends. No one really said anything to them, which was good for Tora because she didn’t know if they would kick them out or something.

After walking down the main street of the compound for the fifth time, Tora sighed in defeat. With her luck, Itachi was probably on a mission or something. Hana sat down on a nearby bench and let her friend look around a little more before she finally sat down as well.

“Are you two lost?” A male voice interrupted the two. The girls looked up to see a boy who was a little ways taller than them with short, unkempt black hair and a black, high-collared shirt with black pants. There was no doubt in their mind that he belonged to the Uchiha clan, just from the outfit alone. Hana’s face slowly turned tomato red as she became infatuated with the boy’s pretty eyes. Tora’s faint blush across her cheeks was evident of her attraction as well, but she quickly shook her head to snap out of it.

“I’m looking for Itachi Uchiha.” Tora announced as she stood up. “Do you know him?”

The teenage boy stifled a chuckle as he looked at the two girls. “Are you planning on sitting outside his house to wait for him to come home and stalk his every move?”

“N-No!” Tora scoffed. “I just wanted to tell him congratulations on graduating early from the Academy, but he’s never around anymore since he’s on missions and stuff, which is understandable and all because genin have to work in order to make money and put food on the table and help out with the family…” She started to ramble as she was caught off guard.

“That’s nice, but it’s been two years since he graduated…” The boy was now laughing, having no reason to hold back.

Hana, finally snapping out of her initial infatuation, got up from the bench to join in on the conversation. “Well, we came in with Itachi-san at the Academy, but you’re right. It is a little late, however there’s a saying that says better late than never, am I right?” The female smiled sweetly. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves? My name is Hana Inuzuka and this is my best friend, Tora Dakuo.”

“Inuzuka and Dakuo… I know who you two are. Your mothers are partners and are highly talked about amongst the ranks.” The boy nodded to himself. “My name is Shisui Uchiha.”

“Are they really?” Tora raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know much since her mother rarely talked about what she did when she was home. The only thing she liked to do was sleep.

“Have you worked with our moms before?” Hana asked, more interested in this conversation than the previous one.

Shisui smiled and shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. “No, I was just recently promoted as a jounin, but I’ve heard a lot about them.” The two girls were taken aback from the new information. Didn’t he look a little young to be a jounin? He probably had a couple years on them at most.

“Shisui-san, I didn’t think I’d see you out and about!” An older female’s voice exclaimed. The trio turned to see a woman with waist length black hair and dark eyes walking towards them. There was a boy attached to her side holding a bag in his arms that, no doubt, contained many items from the market around them.

“I had a little time, so I thought I’d get some fresh air, Mikoto-san.” Shisui bowed his head politely in greeting before crouching down and smiling at the boy next to the woman. “Hello Sasuke. How’s the Academy treating you? You haven’t been getting into trouble, have you?”

The boy puffed up his cheeks. “No! I’m the top of my class.” He turned his head away from the male in front of him. “Itachi-nii-chan is coming home from his mission later today so I’m going to help mom make dinner.” Itachi-nii-chan? This was Itachi’s little brother, so this woman was his mother?! Tora’s ears perked up at this news and for a brief moment, she wondered whether she should take up Shisui’s idea of sitting in front of his house, however when Shisui turned around and they locked eyes, Tora immediately blushed out of embarrassment and turned her head away.

“And who are these cute little girls here with you, Shisui-san?” Mikoto kindly smiled, turning her attention to the two females. “You must be from the Inuzuka clan.” She looked at Hana, immediately recognizing the red fang markings on the girl’s cheeks.

“Hello ma’am. My name is Hana Inuzuka.” Hana bowed in respect.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Tora Dakuo.” Tora bowed the same. In that same moment, the two were enveloped in the arms of the older female, which took the girls by surprise.

“Ah! You’re Tsume and Aoneko’s daughters!” Mikoto gushed. “You two have grown and you’re so adorable! I remember when the three of us were pregnant around the same time when I was carrying Itachi. I miss seeing everyone so much now that I’m not in the ranks anymore. Please tell your mothers that I said hello! What brings you here?”

“They were probably trying to stalk Onii-chan.” Sasuke mumbled under his breath, however his mother caught every word. One look was enough to silence the boy abruptly.

Tora laughed sheepishly and absentmindedly played with one of her braids. “Hana and I were just taking a walk before dinner. We’re about to head back before it gets too late.” She avoided eye contact with Shisui and Sasuke at all costs.

“A little exercise is always nice. Please stay safe and walk together.” Mikoto let the girls go and stood up with a smile. “You’re welcome to come for dinner if you want, Shisui-san.” Waving goodbye to the group, she left for home with Sasuke at her heels.

“Aren’t you going to stay and wait for Itachi?” Shisui asked with a knowing smile.

Tora puffed up her cheeks in a pout, much like Sasuke’s, and turned away from Shisui, starting to leave the compound. “I’ll just catch him later. I’m sure he’ll be tired.”

Hana sighed after her best friend before smiling at Shisui, a small blush forming across her cheeks. “It was nice meeting you, Shisui-san. Please take care.” She bowed politely before following after Tora before she could get too far.

That night, Tora drank water for dinner as Tsume stuck to her promise from earlier. Kiba gloated in front of her face, making sure the female knew how good the meal was, which earned him a knot on the top of his head from where Tora hit him. Hana happily ate, seeing this as her second reward for being dragged across the village by her best friend. The first reward was being able to meet Shisui. When asked why she was in such high spirits, the young Inuzuka simply shook her head with a smile while Tora grumbled to herself.

On the other side of the village, a family of Uchiha’s were enjoying a well-prepared meal to celebrate another of their eldest son’s successful missions. Mikoto remembered her encounter with the two cute little girls and gushed about them over dinner, going as far as to ask Itachi if he knew them, where he replied with a nod. If he remembered correctly, the two girls were in his incoming class at the Academy, however he never spoke to them. One of them was an Inuzuka and he often sat next to her in class, but she mainly stuck to herself which was expected. The other girl, he didn’t know too much about her background. She made average grades and always slept in class. Pushing the thoughts away, he went back to enjoying his dinner.

After dinner, he sat on the back porch of his house with his best friend, Shisui. They had a serious conversation before it became more lighthearted when Shisui reported that the girls had actually come to see him.

“That one girl, Tora, I believe her name was… She’s quite funny.” Shisui smiled. “She said she wanted to congratulate you on your graduation, but it’s been two years. You must be quite popular for your reputation to still be this strong.”

Itachi opened his eyes and looked up at the stars in the sky, leaning back onto his palms. “Hn.”

“I was a little surprised to find out she was Aoneko-senpai’s daughter. If she’s anything like her mother, then she’ll be a strong force to be reckoned with when she has more training.” Shisui chuckled softly. “Either way, she’ll probably have to get through Izumi first.”

The latter male didn’t respond this time on the matter, but instead continued looking at the stars. Inside of his mind, there was so much going on, but this matter, which seemed so small in comparison, was at the forefront. There was something about this Tora Dakuo girl, but he couldn’t put his eye on it. She hadn’t been on his radar since he’d first seen her, however now everyone was talking about her. On the contrary, he definitely didn’t feel like talking to Shisui about it. After a while, he stood up. “It’s getting cold. Let’s go inside.”


	3. This Has To Be A Joke

Small, glittery pieces of paper flew into the air as hand-held confetti poppers were set off. There was a small cake with two lit candles on the table. Surrounding the cake was an array of main and side dishes, mainly Hana and Tora’s favorite foods, which smelled absolutely divine. It was a feast fit for the occasion.

“Congratulations!”

Tora and Hana stood next to each other in front of the table proudly. In a change of environment, they were standing in the Dakuo family home. Surrounding them were their mothers, Kiba, Ashi, and a couple other Inuzuka clan members with all of their respective ninken. It was the night of their graduation day and the two newest official genin shinobi dawned their hitai-ites, Tora’s around her waist like a belt and Hana’s in the standard place across her forehead. It was another feat that they graduated a year early from the Academy together.

The two girls looked at each other in silent agreement before blowing out the candles together while everyone clapped. No sooner had the flame disappeared, the crowd began to fill their plates and eat in high spirits and laughter.

“Good job, brats. Welcome to the real world.” Tsume smirked as she drank a cup of sake. “How long til you know which team you’ll be assigned to?”

“They said to report back at the academy tomorrow and they’ll let us know.” Hana smiled as she started on her favorite dish, tsukune. Honestly, she could’ve just sat and ate this alone but she knew her mother would rip her a new one if she didn’t eat anything else.

Tora and her mother locked eyes and the latter female smiled warmly at her daughter. It was a silent acknowledgement of her daughter’s skill and intelligence which meant more to Tora than her mother just outright saying it as this was their relationship. Ever since she could comprehend it, Tora knew her mother worked hard to raise her in a new environment all by herself. Her mother and Tsume had a very strong bond which bled down into their children, but even without the Inuzukas, she knew her mother still would’ve found a way to make sure she wouldn’t want for anything.

The rest of the night was filled with fun and laughter as the food began to disappear. A little ways past midnight, the party called it quits and everyone began to leave as there was still work that needed to be done the next day. Tsume, Kiba, and Hana stayed to help clean up before they also retired for the night.

“Tora.” Aoneko spoke to her daughter as she was putting away the dishes. Tora stopped sweeping and looked up, watching her mother’s back.

“Yes ma’am?”

“I’m proud of you and the young kunoichi that you’re becoming.” The older female started. “The Dakuo clan was nothing more than my father, mother, sister, and I, but we were pleased with that because it was quality over quantity. Those who came before you were excellent, yet humble shinobi who served their village well. Now, our numbers are reduced to just you and me, but I can tell that you carry our family values.” She turned around to look at her daughter with a smile. “Ever since you were born, it’s always been you and me against the world. My beautiful daughter… I will always love you.”

Tora’s eyes began to well up with tears. She propped the broom up against the kitchen table and immediately went to her mother, wrapping her arms around her mother’s frame in a hug. “I love you too, Mama. Thank you for raising me.”

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•  
The classroom was bustling with newly promoted genin as everyone chatted with another in excitement. Tora was sitting next to Hana, glancing around at all of the prospective partners and competition she could have. There were some students from her class who had graduated early, but the majority were from the class above them. She could tell some of the seniors weren’t too pleased to see their juniors in the same room, but that didn’t matter to her.

“Alright, settle down everyone.” A new male appeared in the doorway before walking in and settling down at the front podium. Tora vaguely recognized him as one of the newer senseis in the Academy - Iruka Umino? “I’ll be going through an orientation regarding your new positions, then I’ll let you know your team assignments.” As he began his lesson, the female automatically put her head down, only to be nudged by her friend. Begrudgingly, she sat up. How did she graduate, only to come back to class?

Nearly two hours later, they finally got to the part that Tora was interested in - the matchmaking process. Iruka explained that their naming procedure would be a little different to off-set similarities, so they would be named with letters instead. As he began, there was a mixture of emotions in the air as some students were happy to be paired with friends, whereas others weren’t so lucky.

“Team D will consist of Saisu Kamano, Hana Inuzuka, and Taji Kitagawa.”

Tora frowned at this as Hana glanced over at her two new teammates - Saisu being a member of their class and Taji of the senior class. Tora had just known that she and Hana would be apart of the same team as they had been together the majority of their lives and their mothers were well known partners. Before she could voice her disappointment, she heard her name being called.

“Team F will consist of Tora Dakuo, Koji Izumo, and Izumi Uchiha.”

The frown on Tora’s face deepened as she heard the last name of her team being called out and she immediately searched the classroom for the said girl. This had to be a joke, or a prank, or something. Why did she have to be on a team with Itachi’s girlfriend, of all people? Her angered eyes met a pair of kind, excited ones across the room as she looked at the female, who was now wearing her hair loose. Rolling her eyes, she immediately faced Iruka sensei once more and crossed her arms. The rest of the teams were named, then Iruka released them for lunch and told them their team leaders would come find them later.

“Tora, stop pouting. Your face will stay that way permanently if you keep on.” Hana chastised her friend. “Come on, let’s go eat lunch. We can get some ramen, my treat.”

Tora sighed and stood up from behind the desk. The day was starting off on the wrong track, but it wasn’t the end of the world. She could still be in the Academy for another year. Accepting her friend’s offer, she began heading out of the building with her when she heard a voice behind her.

“Tora-chan!” Izumi came running behind her with a bright smile. Hana and Tora turned around as the girl stopped in front of them. “I wanted to officially meet you as your teammate. It’s so crazy how we sat together for kunoichi lessons and now we’re teammates. This is great!”

“Great for who?” Tora mumbled under her breath, causing Hana to elbow her in the side. The female clutched her waist in pain and bit back any other words that could come out of her mouth.

“Hi, I’m Hana Inuzuka. It’s nice to meet you. We were in the same class.” Hana smiled at the female. “I’m practically Tora’s sister since we’ve grown up together. We were just about to go to Ichiraku’s for lunch. Would you like to join us?” Tora shot a dirty look in Hana’s direction at the sudden invitation.

Izumi nodded with a slight smile. “I’d love to!”

The trio began to walk together, Hana and Izumi participating in idle chit chat as Tora stayed towards the back, sulking. The gods were really messing with her this time, but what could she do? She’d probably be laughed at or fussed at if she asked to be switched. Maybe this pairing may do her some good and she’ll be able to see Itachi on a more consistent basis? It was a stretch, but she could make it work.

Lunch was a little better communication wise as Hana made Tora speak and become more involved in the conversation. It was only until Hana’s new sensei appeared that the conversation reached a stalemate. Tora and Izumi sat side by side at the Ichiraku ramen bar with half empty bowls in front of them. Izumi ate quietly as Tora swirled the leftover broth with her chopsticks absentmindedly.

“Tora-chan.” Izumi spoke up suddenly. “Did I do something that hurt you? Is that why you don’t like me?”

The feline-like female stopped her movements and placed her chopsticks down. “What are you talking about?” She turned to look at the Uchiha with a small tilt of her head. “What makes you think I don’t like you?”

“I know my clan is not on the top of everyone’s favorites list due to the Kurama attack a couple years ago, however my clan is innocent. I don’t believe any of my fellow members have the capacity to summon such a destructive spirit because we have a lot of love and respect for Konohagakure.” Izumi looked back at her, her eyes showing nothing but pure seriousness. “However, if you have any ill thoughts towards the Uchihas, I will try my best to change your mind. I can promise you that.”

Tora blinked in confusion. That’s what she thinks? “Pfft.” Tora tried to cover her mouth, however a laugh escaped through. Here she was thinking of trivial things like who her significant other is, yet this girl is thinking about a possible homegrown terrorist attack. She didn’t know too many details on the attack and it wasn’t like her mother laid any thoughts in her head - in fact, her mother didn’t even mention it. “Wow, that was nowhere close to what I was thinking. I don’t hate you, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Welcome to Ichiraku’s! What can I get you?” The owner called as the cloth flags were moved to the side.’’

“I’ll take two bowls to go, and these two kids off your hands while I’m at it.” A lighthearted voice chuckled. A hand was placed on one of each girls’ shoulders, causing them to turn around. Behind them was a tall, robust male with tanned skin and curly brown hair. The unzipped flak jacket he was wearing caught their eye the moment they glanced up at him. A bag was placed on the counter and the male smiled thankfully before paying the bill and motioning for the two females to follow him.

“Excuse me?” Izumi spoke up as the trio walked down the streets of Konoha. “Are you our new sensei?”

The man chuckled. “No, but you’ll probably see me a lot because of your new sensei. I’m just taking you to him since it’s on my way.” He smiled at them as he continued walking. “My name is Tekuno Kanden by the way. I know who you two are so you don’t have to introduce yourselves.”

The girls glanced at each other before continuing to follow the man. The Leaf hitai-ate across his forehead seemed to be proof enough to trust him. Soon enough, they reached a small dojo and entered, taking off their shoes at the entrance. In the middle of the space sat a man with dark gray hair in a ponytail and a scar on the side of his mouth and a boy with lighter gray hair in short spikes. Tora and Izumi claimed spots next to the boy and Tekuno sat towards the back by the door.

“Why are you eating in here?” The scarred man looked back at Tekuno.

Tekuno waved him off. “Fine, fine. Here I was, being nice and bringing you lunch, but since you want me to go, I’ll go.”

“You better not eat mine. This won’t take long.” He spoke as Tekuno stepped outside. Looking back at the three genin in front of him, he began to address them. “Now that we’re all here, good afternoon. My name is Hayama Shirakumo and I am the assigned jonin for Team F. I want you to go ahead and introduce yourselves and tell me something that I can’t find on paper about you. The girl in the purple can go first.”

“Oh, okay.” Izumi nodded. “My name is Izumi Uchiha and, um, I decided to become a shinobi so I could help others.”

“My name is Tora Dakuo.” Tora spoke next, crossing her legs Indian-style. “I’m not too fond of sweet foods.”

“I’m Koji Izumo and I’m going to be the strongest shinobi there is.” The boy crossed his arms in self-assurance. “I’m already the fastest from my class.”

Hayama looked between the three children before nodding and standing up. “We can work with this. Let’s move to the outside area. You can put your shoes on.”

The quartet went to the outside field next door to the dojo where Tekuno was seated on the steps entering the dojo, happily eating his lunch. The outside area was merely a large piece of grassy, fenced-in land. Hayama sat down next to Tekuno and picked up his own lunch. “Now, I want to see what you can do.” He formed a single hand sign with his free hand and his clone appeared. “Each of you will receive a flag to tie around your waist. You must keep it on your waist until I finish my lunch. If you can’t follow that rule, there will be consequences.” Once all of the flags were tied, the activity began and the three children spread out.

The clone went after Izumi first, appearing directly in front of her. The girl was startled for a moment before getting into a defensive stance to protect her flag. The clone immediately reached for her flag, and she deflected the attack with her forearm before swiping at its legs with one of her own. Tora noted that the girl had impressive taijutsu skills as she was keeping up with the clone for a little bit, then was quickly becoming overwhelmed. Tora took that time to assess the clone’s movements, then pulled three senbon from her pouch and hurling them at the substitute’s neck.

“Thanks.” Izumi murmured as Tora came up to her. “He’s a lot faster than anyone I’ve sparred with.”

“Don’t Uchiha have some special ability in their eyes? Why don’t you use that?” Tora asked her as she looked around the field. The clone had focused its attention on Koji for the time being so they were good for a moment. “I’m pretty quick on my toes, so I can back you up and be a diversion. It looks like doing this alone isn’t an option.”

Izumi frowned for a second before nodding. “He looks like he’s almost done with his food, so if we can hold out for a little longer, we’ll make it.”

Koji was taking some hits from the clone as he kept his flag secured. Tora could admit that he was fast, but the clone was faster. Taking another three senbon from her pouch, she repeated her same move from before. This time, the clone pulled his katana from the holster and a large gust of wind sent the senbon back at her.

“Stay out of this! You had your turn.” Koji yelled at her.

“I just saved you! He was going to take your flag!” Tora retorted, narrowing her eyes.

Izumi quickly ran to the space between the two and held her hands up in surrender. “Come on everyone. Let’s just focus on the task at hand. We’re almost done.”

The clone appeared directly behind Koji and Izumi could only turn around to see such fast movements, her Sharingan blazing. Tora crouched down low to the ground like she had been taught, and made a lunge for the clone, making it to Koji’s side in seconds. She reached to block Koji’s flag just as the clone reached to grab it.

“Over here!” Izumi called as she ran over. The clone’s eyes shifted to her for a split second before its movements froze in mid-action. 

Tora smirked at Izumi and gave her a thumbs up. “You saved us. Thanks.” Koji averted his eyes from her and murmured his thanks as Izumi smiled brightly at the two.

“Thank you for the food.” Hayama put the empty bowl in the bag next to Tekuno, then stood up. He had the three children come to him before he spoke again. “Congratulations, you have passed my test.” He held his hand out for the flags. The genin smiled eagerly and reached to untie the flags, however they seemed to have disappeared off their waists. The clone from before appeared next to Hayama and handed the flags off before disappearing in a whirl of leaves.

Tora placed her hands on her hips and looked at their sensei. “Now I’m confused. How did we pass and we didn’t keep the flags on us? And how did you get our flags?”

“The point of the activity was not solely for you to keep the flags. I was testing for teamwork. I never said all of you had to keep the flags, however you worked to make sure no one’s flag was taken.” Hayama answered calmly. “I also saw what I’m working with and your potential. Koji, you are a fast mover and you have above average chakra control, especially when you focused chakra in single places of your body to minimize damage, however your pride could potentially get in the way during a team-focused mission and your taijutsu skills need work. Tora, you are a quick thinker and the fastest out of the team mentally and physically as I see you have weights on, but your long range attacks are poor and your taijutsu is very wild and unfocused. Izumi, you have use of the Sharingan and your taijutsu skills are the best out of the team, nonetheless, you are the slowest out of the team movement wise and you need to work on effectively using chakra to control your abilities.”

The trio of genin frowned at their flaws as they stood in front of their new sensei. It felt different to recognize your flaws on your own versus having someone point them out to you. By the way he talked, it sounded like he wasn’t too impressed by them either, which put a damper on their mood.

“Don’t look so down.” Tekuno smiled at the genin. “You three did a good job with all that you’ve studied at the Academy. Most things you don’t learn until you’re in the midst of the enemy. That’s why we work on what we can see now and leave the inevitable to the field.”

“We start training at 6AM tomorrow at Training Grounds 8. Don’t be late or there will be consequences.” Hayama began speaking again. “As for your consequence for today, you must clean the dojo inside and outside.”

“Wait! We passed the test. That’s not fair!” Koji fumed.

Hayama smiled indifferently. “I never said if you passed or failed. You didn’t secure your flag until the end, so now you have a consequence. You better hurry up if you plan on being at the training grounds on time.”

Groaning, Team F reluctantly went to work.


	4. Missions and Encounters

Fundamentals came easy to them, partly because they had just graduated from the Academy and partly because they had advanced scores from their graduation tests. Hayama Shirakumo thought to himself as he watched his genin do their training exercises. Koji and Izumi, he could understand since their class grades were above average, but Tora, her overall grades were baseline average. Maybe she was just a good test taker? It had been a few days since they first began training, and the kids had already mastered the beginner’s stuff such as walking on water and walking up trees. Teamwork takes time so he wasn’t in a rush to work on that, but he was going to start thinking of individualized training plans for them. If they developed skills that were best suited for them, they could use them cooperatively and gain more trust in each other.

“Okay, I’m letting you go early today. We have a mission tomorrow so you need to be prepared and have adequate rest. You all need to pack for a week. Meeting time is 10AM at the front entrance. You’re dismissed.” Hayama told them. The three genin nodded and thanked him before the jonin disappeared.

“Our first mission!” Izumi grinned. She turned and grabbed a hold of Tora’s hands. “I’m so excited!”

Tora was surprised at the sudden physical contact, but smiled nonetheless. “Yeah. I didn’t expect to get one so soon.” She couldn’t wait to tell Hana.

“You two are such babies, getting excited over a mission.” Koji crossed his arms in feigned annoyance, however the slight smile on his face gave him away.

Tora rolled her eyes and walked over to Koji with a knowing smile. “You’re a terrible liar, Koji-senpai. Seems like our senior is excited too, Izumi. He gets to spend a week with two cute girls.”

The male scoffed and turned his head away from Tora. “Shut up. If you mess up, I’m not helping you.”

“Look, he’s blushing!” Tora laughed, eyeing Koji’s neck, which was getting redder by the second from embarrassment.

Izumi giggled. “Stop teasing him, Tora. Let’s go get ready for tomorrow.”

The trio left the training grounds and headed down the streets of Konoha together. It was only three in the afternoon, so there were plenty of villagers out and about.

“Do you have a good amount of tools? My dad says you need a variety of tools you’re good with and some other supplies too when going on a mission.” Koji explained. “My older brother used to show me all the things he would get for his missions.” His voice started to trail off during the last sentence, which caused Tora to frown for a moment.

Izumi smiled. “Let’s go shopping together then. I think that would be great.”

Tora nodded in agreeance as she checked her pockets. Blinking in confusion, she checked again and looked in her pouch as well. Where was it? She spun around, searching the ground around them before sprinting off. “You two go ahead! I’ll catch up!”

The female ran back to the training grounds with a heavy sigh. She couldn’t believe that she had lost her wallet. It was small, so maybe it had fallen out while she was practicing her weapon throwing skills. Once she made it back to the training grounds they were at, she looked around the target area before searching in the more forested area. A small flash of metal caught her eye and she tilted her head in curiosity before heading over. As she approached the place she saw the glare from, her hand brushed over a slightly worn, painted target.

The sound of metal cutting the air alerted Tora’s ears and she immediately crouched down defensively, ready to strike. Looking behind her at the target, she noticed a kunai sticking out slightly above the center and a couple spots of blood. Narrowing her eyes, she stood up and inspected the kunai before her adrenaline died down and she felt a painful stinging sensation from her back of her left hand. There was a long cut across her skin that wasn’t too deep, but it was bleeding profusely. She was too slow to dodge that kunai?

“Are you okay?” A voice startled her and she quickly turned around, placing her right hand over her bleeding left one in attempts to hide the cut. Looking up, she came face to face with none other than Itachi Uchiha.

“I, uh…” Tora’s eyes widened as she looked at the male in front of her. The Itachi Uchiha was standing in front of her and all she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. “Y-Yes, I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be okay?” She laughed sheepishly, fanning her face with her non-injured hand to hopefully make her blush go away.

Itachi raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he saw glimpses of red on her palm as she fanned her face. Looking down, he saw her left head still actively bleeding. “No you’re not. Your hand is bleeding, Tora. Sit down so I can help you.”

“Oh, it’s not bad! I can barely- Wait! You know my name?” The female blinked as she obediently sat down by the trunk of the tree. Itachi reached into his pouch and pulled out a bandage wrap and some ointment before squatting down to help her. Taking his water, he poured it over the wound to try and wash it out, which caused her to wince in pain.

“Sorry.” He murmured. “Yes, I know you. We were classmates in the Academy together.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Tora answered, calling herself stupid on the inside for forgetting something so basic. “You graduated super early, but now we’re both on genin teams.” She smiled at him as he applied ointment to the wound and started to wrap the bandage around it. Not wanting to be awkward and watch him, Tora averted her eyes with a small blush. Sneaking peeks at him, she committed to memory small details like his long eyelashes and the slight signs of sweat beading on his forehead from his training. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Hn.” Itachi made sure the bandages were secure before repacking his pouch. “I’m not a genin anymore. I took the chunin exams last year and passed.”

Tora paused and looked at the male in shock as he stood up. “I’m so sorry!” Jumping to her feet, she quickly bowed her head. “I disrupted your practice and you’re my whole senior in the ranks! I’m very late, but congratulations on your promotion!”

“Oh, you’re here?” Another voice spoke, a voice she had heard before. Glancing up, she saw Shisui standing next to Itachi and almost jumped out of her skin. She didn’t even hear him walk up, yet here he was like he appeared out of thin air.

“It’s you!” Tora exclaimed.

Shisui rubbed the back of his neck with a small laugh. “It seems like you haven’t changed since the last time I’ve seen you.” He noticed her hitai-ite and smiled at her. “Congratulations on your graduation. Did you ever get to congratulate Itachi?”

Tora pursed her lips in a pout and crossed her arms. “I just did, thank you very much!”

Shisui laughed at her actions. “I don’t see your best friend anywhere. Are you alone?”

“I came back to find my wallet. My team and I were training here this morning, but we were let out early since we have a mission tomorrow.” Tora sighed. “I’m starting to think it’s not here, so I’ll probably just head back.”

“You’ll find it.” Itachi reassured her before turning away to leave. “You came to get me, didn’t you Shisui?”

“Yeah. You know your way back, right?” Shisui asked Tora, who nodded in response. Smiling, he waved her off before leaving with Itachi. Tora watched them go before leaning her back against the tree and letting out a low breath. Itachi Uchiha just bandaged her hand and had a conversation with her. If this were back in the Academy, she probably would’ve died on the spot.

Heading home, the female couldn’t help but feel giddy about the events that took place. Once she reached the house, she immediately went to her room and laid back on her bed. Grinning to herself, she squealed into her pillow and kicked her feet around with glee. She talked to Itachi Uchiha! She had to tell Hana immediately. This day couldn’t get better. First she got the news that she’d be going on her first mission with Koji and… Izumi…

Tora frowned as she thought of Izumi and sat up, holding her pillow to her chest. Of course it couldn’t slip her mind that Itachi was Izumi’s boyfriend. Here she was thinking she had gotten a step ahead when she was miles behind Izumi. Groaning, she threw her pillow across her room as she stood up and she heard metal clang as something hit the floor. Glancing over, she spotted her wallet on the floor by her dresser and nearly threw a fit.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Tora stood at the front gates of Konoha with Hana. She was an hour early as she was excited for her first mission and her best friend wanted to see her off so they walked together. Surrounding Hana were her ninken puppies, the Haimaru brothers. It was amazing that she had three ninken under her, as most of the Inuzuka clan members she’d seen were only paired with one. It just went to show how talented Hana was.

The puppies circled around Tora and placed their front paws on her legs, looking up at her with their tails wagging happily. The female looked down at them with a slight look of disgust and crossed her arms. “Tell them to get off me, Hana.” She may be close to dog lovers, even having one as her best friend, but she still had limitations. Dogs were just so touchy and needy; she couldn’t stand it.

“They just want you to pet them.” The Inuzuka giggled before whistling to get her ninken’s attention. The triplets immediately ran to their partner’s side and sat obediently in a line. Smiling, she praised the dogs and crouched down to give them each a treat. “So, can I get this straight? You met Itachi and Shisui yesterday, and Shisui asked about me?”

Tora leaned against the wall of the entrance gate and rolled her eyes. “And Itachi bandaged my hand because I became his human target practice.” She looked down at her left hand, which was now fully healed, much to her dismay. She wanted to keep Itachi’s bandages on for a little longer, however once her mother caught a glimpse of her injury, she healed it in a heartbeat and gave her a lengthy lecture on being more aware of her surroundings. Thankfully, it was just a small cut and she didn’t need stitches.

“Okay, but Shisui asked about me.” Hana clasped her hands together with a dreamy smile. “He remembered me.”

“You’re not helping.” Tora sulked. “I still like Itachi, but as long as Izumi is his girlfriend, I can’t do anything about it.”

Hana shrugged. “And you shouldn’t do anything about it. You’re about to go on a mission. Focus on staying alive.” She grinned and gave her best friend’s shoulder a pat. “Who knows. Maybe Izumi and Itachi might break up or something in the future. There’s plenty of possibilities.”

“How’d I find such a mature best friend?” Tora gushed as she hugged Hana tightly with a playful smile.

“Get off.” Hana laughed. “Now, back to me. How’d he ask about me? Did he say my name?”

The two friends talked and joked for a little longer before Izumi and Koji joined them at the entrance. At exactly 10AM, Hayama-sensei appeared at the gates. He had all three of his genin empty their bags to see what they had packed. Once he deemed it acceptable, he handed the mission scroll off to the guards to check them off. After all formalities were taken care off, he ushered his students to follow him as they left off. Hana waved them off with a friendly smile, calling for them to be safe.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

You’ve got to be kidding me, Tora thought to herself. Her frown was quite evident as she looked at the elder male in front of her. He looked like he could barely walk with his back hunched over, one hand behind his back and the other clutching the top of a walking stick for dear life. She could’ve believe that the mission Hayama-sensei signed them up for was a lowly escort mission to walk this deteriorating old man from one village to another to deliver some scroll. As she snuck a glance at her teammates, she could tell that Koji was thinking the exact same thing, however Izumi had a bright smile on her face.

“This is Mr. Akanishi. We’ll be heading 170 kilometers northeast from here to the Kiyoshi village and stay there with our client until his work is done, then we’ll bring him back.” Hayama-sensei instructed. “Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Akanishi, we can take our leave.”

“I’m ready. We can go ahead and start walking.” The elder male smiled as he began moving. Reaching into the satchel hanging across his body, he grabbed something then held his hand out to the genin. “Would you children like some candy for the road?”

Walking?! By the pace this man was moving, it would take them the full week just to get there! Tora looked down at the red wrapped candy in the man’s palm before turning away and walking. “No thank you.” At first glimpse, it looked like she wasn’t going to enjoy this mission one bit.

Izumi held a conversation with the old man about his life and family whilst Koji and Tora trailed behind them and Hayama led the pack. Koji sighed for the tenth time in a row as Tora dragged her feet. What did this man need an escort for? What information could he possibly be holding that would cause someone to come and attack him?

“What do you think this man is holding in that scroll?” Koji whispered to Tora. She thought about it for a moment before shrugging.

“Maybe a request for supplies or something. There’s no way it could be a treaty or jutsu scroll. He’s not capable of holding onto that type of information.”

Koji smirked. “This man’s back cracks every time he takes a step.”

“What if he keels over during this mission? He looks like he can barely breathe.” Tora giggled softly to herself.

“Don’t joke about things like that. Death isn’t a game.” Koji snapped at her with a glare, causing Tora to quiet down quickly. Her steps faltered and she fell behind him with a frown. What was his problem? They were just joking; maybe he was sensitive or something.

They reached the Kiyoshi village in about three days, which was way longer than it should have taken them in Tora’s opinion. During that time, they usually traveled in silence with minimal conversation. It was late at night, so the group retired at an inn. Izumi immediately laid back on a futon in her and Tora’s room since the guys were next door.

“Ah, my legs feel like jelly.” She sighed as she stretched out. Tora simply nodded offhandedly and looked around the room. It was fairly small with little to no decorations; simply a place to rest and leave. She pulled out the extra futon mattress out from the closet and laid it down beside Izumi’s. Honestly, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Koji had said to her when they were walking; he hadn’t spoken to her since. Each time she tried to talk to him, he would turn his head or ignore her very existence.

“Hey, Tora? Are you listening to me?” Izumi asked with a confused look on her face.

Tora blinked and turned around to face her teammate. “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

Izumi frowned slightly at this, wondering what was up with her. “Do you want to go to the hot springs with me? The innkeeper said the townspeople love the one that’s in this hotel.”

Perking up, it was as if all other thoughts left Tora’s mind. She never missed a chance to enjoy her favorite pastime - going to the hot springs. Standing to her feet, she was the first to the door with one of the inn’s towels in hand. “Let’s go. What are you waiting for?”


	5. Fishy Behavior

Tora yawned for the sixth time as she stood in the back of a meeting between Mr. Akanishi and the Kiyoshi village head, a young woman by the name of Lady Satomi. As the two were having a leisure tea time, Tora was trying to stay awake. She never had much interest in politics and stuffy customs. If she were to be honest, she was very uncomfortable as her legs had long gone to sleep since she’d been sitting on her knees for the past two hours. Turning her head, she looked over at her teammates. Izumi sent her a small smile as Koji met gazes with her and turned away in that instant.

“I bid you farewell, Akanishi-san.” Lady Satomi stood up. She opened a handheld fan and held it in front of the lower half of her face, the ends of her eyes crinkling, inferring that she was smiling. “Safe travels.”

Tora and her team stood up as Mr. Akanishi bowed and left the room. As they were leaving, Tora noticed a peculiar glint in Lady Satomi’s eyes. The woman shifted her gaze to the children and smiled innocently, which caused Tora to smile back and bow her head before leaving. Something didn’t seem right with that woman, but maybe she was just seeing things. All she knew was that her legs felt like static as she was trying to regain feeling in them.

It only took half an hour for everyone to get their things together before they left the Kiyoshi village grounds to escort Mr. Akanishi home. Tora stretched her hands to the sky as they walked, finally feeling like herself again. The sun was out and the day was nice, not too hot and not too cool. The only thing that would make it complete was to take a nap.

“Tora, what are you going to do when we get back home?” Izumi asked as she walked next to the feline female.

Tora tilted her head in thought. “Probably take a nap. You?”

“I’ll unpack my things, then maybe I’ll go see Itachi-chan if he’s not on a mission and eat some dango.” Izumi smiled, clasping her hands behind herself.

Tora nodded in thought. Of course, she would go see Itachi-san. “Hey, Izumi..” She said as she thought aloud. “How long have you and Itachi-san been dating?”

Izumi blinked in surprise at the sudden question before her face acquired a light blush. “Well, um… Itachi-chan and I have never officially said we were boyfriend and girlfriend.” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “We hang out a lot and everyone just started calling us a couple. Honestly, it’s a little embarrassing…”

Tora turned to Izumi in surprise. Sure, Itachi was always quiet and to himself in class, but she thought he would’ve said something by now. “But you like him, don’t you?”

“I love him.” The female told her seriously, abandoning all previous signs of self-consciousness.

Tora smiled at the female’s honesty. “Then that’s all that matters.” On the outside, she seemed completely satisfied with Izumi’s confession, however on the inside, she was very disheartened. How many times was she going to disillusion herself into thinking she had a chance?  
.  
The group was halfway through their trip back and had stopped to take a quick break. Once everyone was okay to move on, they were about to continue when Hayama-sensei held his hand out to catch everyone’s attention. Tora frowned as Izumi inched closer to Mr. Akanishi. Koji reached into his ninja pouch, his fingers brushing across the handle of one of his kunai.

It was about nine ninjas that dropped from the trees, dressed in all black with hoods and masks that covered the bottom halves of their faces. They didn’t have a hitai-ite visible, so it was unknown which village they were a part of, and each had their own specific ninja tool in their hands, no doubt ready to start a fight. Hayama-sensei stepped forward and eyed the ninja before speaking. “What is the problem?”

“Give us the old man.” The ninja to the outermost left with a johyo in his hands said.

“We have no business with you, so I’d suggest you leave.” Hayama narrowed his eyes, his voice sickly calm. Mr. Akanishi looked at the unknown ninja before turning back to his hired acquaintances; it didn’t take a genius to see that they were outnumbered. By the time he turned his head back the mercenaries, the physical altercation was well underway.

Most of the ninja had tantos, which Koji found out very quickly as he narrowly missed a swipe to his face. The teen chose to fight more on the defensive side as he only had kunai and shuriken in his pouch. To his left, Tora was engaged in a fight of her own between two of the ninja. Not used to having to watch her front and back at the same time, she was relying on her evasive skills to get her through. This wasn’t like when she was sparring with Tsume or Ashi; this felt completely different and she was trying to figure out how to handle it. Somehow, Tora and Koji ended up back to back during the fight as they were surrounded by four of the mercenaries. 

“Why are you being such a coward? You’ve been running away this entire time.” Koji said as he eyed the enemy. He threw a couple kunai at them so they would keep their distance. “I told you, if you messed up, I wasn’t going to help you.”

“I’m not running away; I’m assessing the situation! I don’t need your help anyway!” Tora rolled her eyes. Crouching down, she lunged for one of the ninja, evading the sword and managing to land a swipe across his face with her claws. “How can I trust you to help me when you’ve ignored me this entire mission?”

“Well, how can I trust you when you think death is a joke?” Koji retorted.

Tora narrowed her eyes and turned around, fully facing her teammate. “Are you really being serious right now? I made one little joke! You’re being incredibly childish!”

“I’m being childish?” Koji scoffed.

Izumi stood guard in front of Mr. Akanishi with her Sharingan blazing. She was successfully defending herself whilst keeping an eye on her employer, as expected of a Uchiha. Overhearing her teammates, she frowned. “What are you two doing? We’re fighting them, not each other!”

Tora turned away from Koji, annoyed with herself for losing her composure. She continued to fight, staying closer to Izumi to help her protect Mr. Akanishi. It was easier to fight alongside Izumi; their movements seemed to fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Keeping her focus, Tora thought of what she had learned from training and used it to keep herself one step ahead of the ninja. 

The battle seemed to be turning in their favor until one of the ninja appeared behind the old man. Izumi was still fighting another ninja so Tora took it upon herself to save him. When she lunged to attack the enemy, the chain from a johyo wrapped around her ankle and pulled her back, slamming her into a tree. It felt like all the air had left her lungs as she slid down the trunk and onto the ground. Seeing an opening, the ninjas went after Mr. Akanishi, only to be subdued by Hayama. The jonin pulled his katana from the holder and swiped the air, creating a wind that blew all of the enemy ninja a couple meters back. Instead of the ninja focusing on Hayama, they fell back and retreated into the woods.

“Tora, are you okay?” Izumi immediately ran over to the female once they were safe. Her teammate was currently on her hands and knees, gasping for air. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire.

“Hunching over like that isn’t going to help you.” Koji folded his arms across his chest. “You have to hold your arms above your head to open up your chest cavity.” Tora glared up at the male as she complied. Her back was sore, but that was nothing compared to what she was thinking. She couldn’t believe she made a mistake like that.

“Why don’t we take a little break?” Mr. Akanishi smiled as he hobbled over to the trio with his walking stick. “I know of a little rest stop close to here and I would like to get some tea.”

Koji sighed. “Didn’t we just take a break?”

Hayama frowned as he glanced up at the sky. It was the middle of the day, but he could see the clouds started to settle in, meaning it was going to rain. He had no idea who those ninjas were, but they retreated, so there was no telling when they would come back. He did have an idea of who could’ve hired them though. “I would advise against it, but we can stay at the rest stop until the rain stops. Afterwards, we’ll need to keep moving.”

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Tora, Izumi, and Koji sat at a table in the rest stop in silence. Izumi drank her tea while Tora’s and Koji’s were untouched and getting colder by the minute. The rain was pouring heavily outside and showed no signs of stopping. Hayama and Mr. Akanishi were a couple tables away, having a light-hearted conversation - more so on Mr. Akanishi’s end while Hayama sipped his tea and listened to the old man ramble.

“Wow, it sure is raining hard outside…” Izumi murmured as she listened to the drops hitting the roof. Honestly, the silence at the table was making her very uncomfortable and she sincerely hoped all of their missions wouldn’t turn out this way. The animosity radiating from the two made her feel like she was sitting in a box.

Tora turned to Koji, not being one to beat around the bush. “Why are you so sensitive about death? It’s inevitable. We’re all going to die anyway.”

“Ah, that was a bit harsh, Tora…” Izumi laughed weakly, trying to lighten the mood.

Koji rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s nice to know you can just talk about it so carelessly since you’ve never experienced it first hand. You’re such an idiot for even saying something like that.”

“Don’t call her an idiot, Koji...” Izumi raised her hands up slightly in surrender.

“I’m an idiot?” Tora looked at Koji incredulously. “You don’t just stop talking to your teammate in the middle of a mission because you’re sensitive and you got your feelings hurt from a little joke.”

“Can we just settle down for a moment?” Izumi asked, however her voice fell lower and lower. Nothing she was saying was helping to diffuse the situation.

“Well that little ‘joke’ to you is someone’s reality.” Koji raised his voice as he balled his fists underneath the table. “My brother died on a mission like this and no amount of joking is going to bring him back!” Standing up, Koji mumbled about needing some air and walked to the door to sit on the bench outside that was covered by the roof.

Tora immediately looked down into her cup of tea with a frown. Now she felt like an idiot; an inconsiderate one to be exact. Koji was right. She hadn’t been directly affected by death. The only thing she could possibly relate it to was the disappearance of her father, but she was too young to even remember what he looked like. It probably hurt to find out that someone you grew up with and cared for was no longer with you and you couldn’t do anything about it.  
“Don’t beat yourself up, Tora.” Izumi placed her hand on Tora’s shoulder. “It was an honest mistake. Just talk to him.”

“The rain has stopped. Let’s keep moving.” Hayama appeared at their table with Mr. Akanishi in tow. The two females nodded and followed behind after paying for the bill.

The trip felt just as silent as before as the group walked along the muddy path. The formation was still the same; Hayama led the way with Izumi next to Mr. Akanishi and Koji and Tora in the back. Tora clasped her hands behind her back as she tried to figure out what to say to Koji. Every time she thought of something, her throat went dry and she immediately swallowed her thoughts.

“Koji-senpai…” Tora began awkwardly, stealing a glance at the male next to her. He didn’t answer her, so she assumed she was speaking too low. Clearing her throat, she tried again a little louder. “Koji-senpai.”

“I heard you the first time.” Koji replied, not even looking in her direction.

Tora took this as her chance and drew in a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing Koji’s wrist. She turned his body so he was looking at her, then spoke. “I’m really sorry for the stupid joke I made. I was careless and didn’t think about how it would make you feel, even though if you had just openly communicated with me, we wouldn’t be in this position now. Either way, I want us to be able to trust each other because we’re teammates and the only way we can do that is if we can talk.”

Koji sighed and pulled his wrist out of Tora’s grasp. “Seeing this side of you is weird.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as the tips of his ears grew red in embarrassment. “You were wrong… but I may have gone a little overboard with my reaction. My brother died a couple years ago, so I’ve had time to get used to it. Besides, I never told you I didn’t trust you.”

“I have plenty of sides to me.” Tora smirked. “And you implied it so you said it! Now you have to say, ‘I trust you, Tora’.”

Koji scrunched up his nose. “That’s corny; I’m not saying that.”

“You two don’t know how to multitask? Stop breaking formation.” Hayama called out to the two genin. He sighed to himself as he murmured his last sentence underneath his breath. “I’m starting to think the Academy was a joke to you.”

Mr. Akanishi laughed as Koji and Tora ran over to the group. “It’s nice being around such a lively group of young folk.”

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Finally, the group reached Hamana Village, the home of Mr. Akanishi. Finally, their mission had come to an end and they could return home. Tora could practically hear her bed calling for her now.

“Well, Mr. Akanishi-san. You’re home, safe and sound.” Izumi smiled, however Mr. Akanishi did not respond. The elder man stepped towards his home in silence, looking from side to side. “Um, Mr. Akanishi-san?”

“Where are the children?” Mr. Akanishi asked as he held onto his walking stick with both hands. “The children are always out to play. Where have they gone?”

“Maybe it’s nap time?” Tora shrugged. Receiving looks from her teammates, she blinked in confusion. “What? When I was a kid, I loved to take naps and I still do.”

There was an uneasy shift in the air and Hayama stepped forward in front of Mr. Akanishi with his katana drawn. The genin surrounded the man on all sides, preparing themselves. From the village huts, the villagers emerged with fearful looks on their faces. Following them were the mercenaries from before. The last to come out was the village head, who was being held with a kunai to her neck.

“Give us the scroll, old man.” The mercenary holding the village head spoke. “If anyone makes a move, the lady gets it.”

The village head kept still in the man’s grasp. “Just do as he says, Akanishi-san.” The elder man sighed with regret before reaching into his garment to pull out the scroll.

“Wait. We’re just going to let him do this?” Tora asked.

“Our mission was to escort Mr. Akanishi to deliver the scroll.” Koji answered her. “We’ve succeeded.”

“He hasn’t said that he’s delivered it.” Tora frowned. “So we’re not done.”

Koji scoffed. “So what’s your bright idea then?”

Mr. Akanishi made his way past Hayama with his walking stick slowly. Tora narrowed her eyes and crouched down, ready to run and pounce at the mercenaries. The head ninja-for-hire smirked at Tora’s movements. He threw the village head aside to his associate and formed a couple hand signs. A large blazing ring of fire grew around Hayama and his team, entrapping them.

“They’re going to kill him. We have to do something.” Tora stood up from the ground. The flames were too high to jump over and she was pretty sure she couldn’t run through them. Turning to her sensei, she walked over to him. “Can’t you blow the flames out with your wind jutsu?”

“You didn’t learn a thing at the Academy, did you?” Koji rolled his eyes, overhearing her question. “What an idiot.”

“Wind release is weak against fire release. I would only be adding fuel to the fire.” Hayama watched the flames. “These mercenaries are amateurs; it’s evident in all of their movements. The bounty for the scroll must have been too little to take seriously. The easiest way to get out of this is to tunnel underground, use water release, or basic genjutsu.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure digging would only get us so far. My claws are for shredding, not gardening. None of us have learned anything about water besides walking on it, unless you have some hidden abilities, Hayama-sensei. In regards to genjutsu, we have…” Tora looked back at her quiet teammate. “Izumi.”

Koji scratched his head in disbelief. “Well, whatever we decide, can we do it quickly? There’s an old man about to lose his life.”

“I can’t take them all out.” Izumi frowned.

“Just try.” Tora smiled at her teammate. “We’re here if anything happens. I trust you.”

Izumi looked at Tora and nodded before taking a breath. She looked at the mercenaries in front of her as she activated her Sharingan. Telling herself to focus, she tried to concentrate her chakra into her eyes. “I’m ready.”

Tora and Koji nodded to Izumi as they reached into their pouches. Pulling out kunai and shuriken, they put their previous practice to the test. The two genin threw the tools, aiming for the heads of the mercenaries. The enemy was quick to deflect, but they already knew this. Once they had their attention, Izumi closed her eyes before opening them once more and starting her genjutsu. Soon after, the fire died down to smoky ashes and Hayama made several slices in the air, blades of wind attacking the paralyzed mercenaries at critical points.

Izumi’s eyes faded to black and her knees buckled. Tora immediately ran over and caught her teammate before she fell the ground, the female’s body limp in her arms. She couldn’t tell if the heat radiating from Izumi’s body was from a rising fever or standing too close to the flames, but she was breathing so Tora guessed that counted for something.

Once the mercenaries were tied up and the villagers were safe, the village head thanked the team for all their help. “We must have a feast to show our gratitude. We can also treat the girl.” The female insisted. Holding her hand out, she took the scroll from Mr. Akanishi and opened it. “The feast shall feature our village’s pride - unagi!”

Koji looked at the village head in astonishment. “The contents of the scroll was a recipe?”

“Not just any recipe.” Mr. Akanishi smiled. “This recipe has been passed down in our village for generations and it’s only made with the freshest eel from our lake. Outsiders would kill for a meal like this so we must protect it at all costs.” Hayama smiled at the gesture and walked over to pick up Izumi and bring her inside the village head’s home for treatment.

Tora stared in disbelief. She stood next to Koji and looked at him as everyone else went inside.. “Did we just risk our lives for some food?”

“Not just any food. Fish. An eel to be exact.” Koji rolled his eyes before walking inside himself.


	6. The Beginning of the End

From the time they were formed, Team F spent everyday together. If they weren’t on a mission, they were training together. If they weren’t training, they were shopping or eating. Hayama engraved in their minds that they should know each other like the back of their hand. Quirks, habits, likes, dislikes, etc. A few years had passed since they became genin and the trio were nothing short of a family.

With the help of Tekuno, Team F was trained to specialize in tracking and ambush. The genin learned to set up effective traps, camouflage themselves, and move quickly in stealth and silence. They also participated in individualized training. While Izumi focused on Sharingan training within her family, Hayama had Koji expand on his chakra control by learning medical ninjutsu and barrier ninjutsu. Tora continued to study with her mother and the Inuzukas and improved on her taijutsu while specializing in short and mid-range attacks using shuriken, kunai, and senbon. The trusting bond between the trio was seen and praised throughout the ranks.

“Team F has returned from their C-rank mission of tracking down and capturing a minor threat to Konohagakure. The mission went smoothly and was successful, Lord Hokage. All of the details are explained in this scroll.” Hayama spoke as he placed the mission scroll in the Third’s hands and stepped back away from the desk.

“Excellent.” Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled at the three genin in front of him. “Your teamwork never ceases to amaze me. I believe you three are more than ready to take the chunin exams. The genin are dismissed. Hayama, I would like to speak to you for a moment.”

The trio bowed and exited the room as their sensei stayed. The moment they stepped outside of the Academy, Tora grinned and punched the air excitedly. “We’re finally going to get promoted! Dinner’s on me tonight!”

“You better study your ass off for those exams then.” Koji smirked. “I heard the written exam is no joke and if one person fails, the whole team fails. Izumi and I had pretty good scores in school, but you were barely average.”

“I still passed and that’s all that matters.” Tora rolled her eyes. “Keep yapping and you’ll be paying for dinner.”

Izumi giggled and took her teammates’ hands, leading down the pathway. “Let’s go stuff our faces with barbeque and worry about this later. We deserve it after all.”

The genin sat at the local barbeque restaurant and enjoyed each other’s company as Koji grilled the meat and Izumi and Tora handled the vegetables. Tekuno and Hayama joined them a little later and the group ate well. Tora laughed as Tekuno and Koji fought over the last two skewers of meat. Meanwhile, Izumi and Hayama had a light-hearted conversation as they sipped their tea. In the moment, Tora reflected on their time together. In the beginning, she was disheartened and a little wary of her team members, but now they had become her second family. It was moments like these that she wished lasted forever.

“Alright, I’m going to call it a night. You can rest tomorrow and we’ll start up training again the next day.” Hayama stood up. “Good night.”

“I heard Lord Hokage was very pleased with you three.” Tekuno gave the children a thumbs up. “Hayama’s really proud of you, even if he doesn’t say it, and so am I.”

Koji blinked and stood up. “Hayama-sensei, I have something to ask you so I’ll go with you.”

After the three males said their goodbyes and left, Tora and Izumi sat together and ate the rest of the grilled vegetables. They started out having idle chit-chat, talking about how they’ve grown and what their ultimate goals were, until Izumi quieted down. Tora watched her teammate’s actions for a moment before frowning. “What’s wrong, Izumi?”

“Hm?” Izumi raised her head with a forced smile. “What do you mean?”

Tora pointed a vegetable skewer at her with the roll of her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’ve been trained to know you like the back of my hand so spit it out.”

“I’m worried about Itachi-san.” Izumi sighed, knowing full well that Tora wasn’t going to give in. “I feel like he might be carrying too many burdens, but I’m not sure how to lighten the load. If I could do anything to help him, I would.”

Tora put the skewer down and nodded, looking away from her. The restaurant was bustling with customers, however it felt like only she and Izumi were in the room. Once again, the conversation was back to Itachi. She’d tried to suppress her feelings all this time and she thought if she just envisioned Izumi and Itachi together, that she’d be able to get over it, but it wasn’t working. Where was this attachment coming from?

“Izumi…” Tora looked down at the grill. Somehow finding the confidence to look her teammate in the eye, she lifted her head up. “I like Itachi-san. Of course I won’t intrude on your relationship or anything, but I’ve liked him for a while, even before I met you.”

“I know.” Izumi responded quickly, causing the other female’s eyes to widen as her face burned red in embarrassment.

“You do?”

Izumi shrugged and sipped her tea. “I’ve known ever since we were in the Academy; we were in the same class together. You never hid it, but you just admired him from afar. I wondered how long you were going to try and keep it from me. We’ve had a lot of candid conversations and you’ve always listened to me, almost to the point where I kind of felt guilty telling you my troubles when I knew you had feelings for him too.”

Tora frowned for a moment and shook her head before she let out a small, amused laugh. “Wow, I actually feel stupid right now.” She leaned her head into her palm lazily. “You’re feeling guilty for telling me and I’m feeling guilty for hiding. We must be two peas in a pod, Izumi.”

Izumi laughed at this as she put the empty tea cup down. “We must be. You’re a really good friend, Tora. I’m glad that we were put on the same team together.”

“Shh!” Tora looked around the restaurant cautiously. “If Hana heard you say that, she’d probably get really jealous.” The two females laughed freely and finished off the rest of the food before asking for the check.

“I have a favor to ask, Tora.” Izumi said seriously, switching the tone of the conversation. “If anything happens to me, can you promise me that you’ll look after Itachi-san? I feel that you’re the only one I can trust to do this because you feel the same as me. Itachi-san is truly a good person.”

Tora looked at Izumi’s pleading eyes. She was surprised by what the female was asking, however she also felt that there was a deeper meaning behind her words. What did she mean by ‘Itachi-san is truly a good person’? Knowing her teammate, Izumi probably wasn’t going to disclose anything more than that, but if she was asking for this, then it must be very important to her. “Yes, I promise.”

Izumi looked relieved after she heard the answer. “Thank you, Tora. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, so I’m just feeling a little paranoid. A shinobi’s job is never easy after all.”

Tora nodded as the check was handed to her by the server. As she browsed the piece of paper, her eyes landed on the price at the end and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she reached for her wallet. Once again she had let her excitement get the best of her. Izumi tilted her head in confusion as Tora’s shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Next time she’s paying for their dinner, they’ll be going to her house and eating cup noodles!

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

It had been an hour since the first droplet had come down. Tora looked out her bedroom window, watching the gloomy clouds that filled the sky as a rain storm ensued. The plan was to do some practice spars with the Inuzuka matriarch, however they had to take a raincheck. With a frown, she leaned her cheek against the cold glass.

Finding some motivation, she left the window and walked down the hall to get a snack from the kitchen. Her mother had left a note last night saying she was selected for a mission and wouldn’t be back for a couple of days; nothing she wasn’t already used to. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a pitcher of water and poured herself a glass. She figured Izumi was busy on their day off since she hadn’t come by the house, but she didn’t know what Koji was up to. As she glanced at the calendar, she stared at the date until her eyes widened in realization.

It was the anniversary of his older brother’s death.

Tora remembered the conversation she had with Koji about his brother, Tenma, and frowned. Today marked eight years since the accident so she figured he was probably spending it with his family. Placing the cup of water down, another thought crossed her mind and she quickly went upstairs to find her jacket. Grabbing the discarded material off her vanity, she put it on and slipped on her sandals before grabbing two umbrellas.

It was a little past four and there was no one outside as they were most likely taking shelter. The temperature had gone down a bit so it was slightly chill, but nothing unbearable. The first anniversary of death hurt the most, she knew that more than anyone. She was too young to experience it herself but she saw how her mother felt. The year her father disappeared, he may as well have died. She had never seen her mother in so much anguish. As the years go by, the pain may get duller little by little, but it always hurts the most the day of.

Of course, it affects everyone differently but even the slightest relationship with someone could cause a reaction. As she approached the Konoha burial grounds, she took in a small breath, glancing around the area. Gray stones, some fresh while some faded and worn, were everywhere in a neat pattern. Turning her head to the far right, she finally spotted what she was looking for and let out a small sigh of relief.

There was a single male kneeling in front of a gravestone, his Anbu attire slightly dulled like the chipped gravestone in front of him. Water droplets rolled off the matte metal as other droplets disappeared into the already soaked black shirt and pants. His long hair, tied tightly in a low ponytail, stuck to one side of his neck. As Tora approached him, she could tell he wasn’t moving, just sitting still in silence with his head bowed. She stood a couple feet behind him, just as silent, for a few minutes before opening her second umbrella and holding it over his body.

“Grieving hurts the most when you do it alone.” Tora spoke softly as she squatted down with her knees to her chest next to him, holding both umbrellas. “Trust me, I would know, Itachi-san.”

Itachi sat up slowly, his eyes glued to the gravestone. Tenma Izumo’s name was etched into the front with clear precision.The rain hid his tears, however his slightly puffy eyes gave it away. He was silent as the minutes went by and Tora didn’t want to push him to talk, so she kept quiet as well. After a while, her arm was starting to cramp from holding the umbrella out, but his voice distracted her from her thoughts. “It’s my fault. I should have saved him.”

Tora had never heard of the story behind Tenma’s death, only that he died during a mission. She looked at him as he kept looking at the gravestone, continuing to speak.

“Because of my slow reaction, I couldn’t defend him. That person came out of nowhere and I could’ve… I should’ve been better.”

This was the most that he had spoken to her in a minute and Tora wasn’t sure what to say. She had heard that Shisui committed suicide a little over a week ago and she felt that he was also talking about him as well. What Izumi had told her when they were at dinner was true after all. Tora was well aware of the mental hardships that came along with their line of work, as well as the fact that words could only go so far in these situations.

“Itachi-san, although my words may not be as effective as if they were coming from Tenma-san, I feel that he would want you to move forward from this. There’s a brighter future that lies beyond this grave and you have the power to change and mold that future into your own.” Tora tried to offer a small smile of support, however she couldn’t even muster that up in this situation due to her concern.

Itachi looked away from the gravestone and at Tora. “Why did you come here?” He looked up at the umbrella she was holding over him and took it from her hands. “Thank you.”

“Koji told me about his brother and mentioned you two were teammates.” Tora answered as she stood up, a little flustered. “I wasn’t stalking you or anything. I just had a hunch that someone might be here considering what today is, but I didn’t think it would be you.”

“Hn.” Itachi nodded.

The two were silent for a moment before Tora spoke up again. “Itachi-san, are you okay? I heard about Shisui-san and I-”

“You should go home, Tora.” Itachi closed the umbrella, handing it to the female as the rain dwindled away. “You could catch a cold if you stay out any longer.”

Tora blinked as she automatically took the umbrella back. Blushing, she looked down at her semi-wet clothes; he was right. “W-Well, I was going to see Izumi first. Did you want to come with me?”

“I’m actually about to take her on a date.” Itachi answered.

“Oh!” Tora’s face grew even more red in embarrassment. “I don’t want to impose; I’ll just see her tomorrow. Enjoy your evening, Itachi-san, and keep your head up. If it counts for anything, I believe in you.” As she turned away, Tora started leaving the graveyard to head home, when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Thank you.”

Tora looked back in surprise to find that Itachi had vanished. A small smile etched its way on her face as she held the two umbrellas to her chest. Turning around, she continued home in high spirits; maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel after all.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

That same night, Tora was wide awake as she stared at the ceiling of her room. Usually she would be asleep by now, however she couldn’t seem to shake an eerie feeling in her gut. Sitting up, she swung her legs over to the side of the bed and stood up. Her dark, wavy hair messily hung around her head as she walked out of her room and into the dark hallway. Maybe she just needed some tea to calm her mind so she could get some rest.

As she made her way into the kitchen, she opted for some water and looked out the small window above the sink. There was a full moon out, however it only gave her chills to see it. There was something wrong but she couldn’t seem to put her finger on it. Placing her water cup in the sink, she put on her sandals and left the house. The cool night air brushed against her bare skin as she walked in her pajamas - a simple t-shirt and slacks. Once she reached her destination, she knocked on the door and looked around at the empty streets.

“Tora?” A sleepy voice spoke as the door opened. “What are you doing here? It’s nearly midnight.”

“Hana… Something’s not right.” Tora frowned. “I just have a bad feeling. Do I feel sick to you or something?”

Hana tilted her head as she placed her hand on Tora’s forehead. “You feel fine to me. Come inside before you actually get sick though.”

Tora stepped inside the house and Hana made some tea for the both of them. The Inuzuka watched as her best friend looked down at the teacup and held onto it, but never made an attempt to drink. She’d never seen her look so distressed before so she figured something must really be wrong.

“What are you thinking about?” Hana asked as she sipped her tea and wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

Tora glanced up from her teacup. “I’m worried. Izumi and I had an open conversation a couple days ago about Itachi-san and I saw him earlier today. Izumi was concerned about him and now I feel the same way.”

“You woke me up to talk about a boy?” Hana leaned her head into her palm. “You’re lucky I’m your best friend and my mom is out because she would’ve had a lot more to say. If you’re feeling this serious about your gut, then what do you want to do about it? We can go to the Uchiha compound or I can stay awake with you until you fall asleep. I vote for the sleep option because-”

Tora smiled at her friend and in that instant, Hana knew exactly what was going to happen and she let out a sigh of regret for even opening her mouth. “Can you at least let me change my-”

“Let’s go now. It’ll be quick anyway!” Tora jumped up from her seat. “I know where Izumi lives.”

Hana begrudgingly let her best friend drag her to the Uchiha compound once again. For some reason, she just couldn’t understand why she let Tora get her into these situations. One day, she was just going to learn to stay in bed and go to sleep and maybe Tora would follow after her for a change. As Hana grumbled lowly to herself, she found herself getting closer and closer to the compound regardless of what she thought. That’s when the scent smacked her in the face and she stopped moving. It was a strong metallic smell that she could recognize anywhere - blood.

“What’s wrong Hana?” Tora turned around to see the Inuzuka had stopped moving. Her eyes had grown wide as she looked around. After a moment, the growing scent of blood hit her and she turned back to where it was coming from, which was the front gates of the Uchiha compound. Taking off, Tora ran over to the gates and froze in shock. It looked like a scene out of hell - there were bodies and blood everywhere.

Hana cautiously moved over to where Tora was and took in the sight as well. “Oh my god..” The female let out a shaky breath and covered her nose, trying to block out the copper stench to no avail. Instantly taking her friend’s hand, she tugged on it. “Tora, we need to get out of here. Now.”

“Izumi...” Tora’s breath caught in her chest. When? Why? How? The questions swarmed her mind, leaving room for nothing else. Chills ran up her spine and she couldn’t find the will to move her body. The compound that seemed so full of life the last time she had seen it now filled her with utter despair. This had to be a nightmare; she was dreaming a bad dream and now she needed to wake up. “Izumi…” The visuals of the bodies piled on top of each other in their growing puddles of blood were quickly being burned into her mind. Some of the bodies still had eyes that were wide open, showing all of the anguish and pain, and it took everything in Tora not to throw up and run away. “Izumi… Where is Izumi?”

“Tora, we shouldn’t…” Hana started to speak but Tora didn’t hear her as she ran head first into the compound, stepping over lifeless corpses. The Inuzuka clenched her fist before taking off after the female; there was no way she could leave her alone like this.

The door to Izumi’s house was wide open. Tora stood in the doorway, her body shaking in fear; she could already see Izumi’s mother’s body laying in the hallway. Once Hana caught up, she placed her hand on Tora’s shoulder and nodded to her before the two entered the home. They slowly looked through the house before walking into Izumi’s room. Laying in the bed was Izumi’s body, however she was not moving. She looked as if she was sleeping peacefully, her body arranged on the bed as if she were laying in a casket.

“Izumi…?” Tora stood by the door, calling the female’s name softly. After she showed no signs of moving, Hana crept over and touched Izumi’s hand. She had already had a feeling of what had happened, but she didn’t want it to be true. She wished so much that it wasn’t true.

“She’s cold, Tora.” Hana turned back to her friend, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Then put a blanket over her.” Tora spoke up as she quickly rushed over. No, this wasn’t possible. She had just spoken to her. They had just established their relationship. They were two peas in a pod. Tora tried to move the bed sheets but Hana grabbed her friend and pulled her back.

“No, you can’t disturb her body, Tora!”

“Stop talking like she’s dead!” Tora cried as she struggled against Hana. Why was this happening? She had finally found another person that she could call her sister. They had talked about their future goals and everything they wanted to accomplish. Izumi was one of the most selfless people she had met. Who would do such a thing to her?

“She is dead!” Hana whispered, fearing that if she said it any louder than it would make it even more true. “We have to get out of here now.”

Everything next seemed to happen in a blur. Tora was taken out of the room by Hana and the two stumbled over their feet as they ran out of the house. The only thing they knew how to do at that point was run away. Every turn they made, there were new piles of bodies and the stench of blood was unbearable, surrounding them with no way for them to escape. Please, somebody wake me up, Tora willed. End this suffering and take me out of this bad dream.

“What are you two doing here?”

The two girls froze in panic and turned around to see a member of the Anbu behind them. Tora’s mouth went dry as everything that she had seen was still fresh in her mind. Letting go of Hana’s hand, she stepped forward. “P-Please, you have to help my friend! She wasn’t breathing and-”

Hana let out a gasp and fell to the ground unconscious. Tora glanced back as two Anbu were behind her best friend’s body. Eyes widening in fear, Tora let her animal instincts take over as her hands formed into claws. Disappearing, she reappeared over the top of Hana’s body and bared her fangs at the shinobi.

“Why are you bearing your fangs at a comrade, kitty?” The Anbu asked as the other two Anbu from before appeared at his side. “Why don’t you let me help you?”

Tora growled at them and activated a genjutsu her mother had been helping her develop. A tiger appeared in her stead and in one leap, pounced on the shinobi. In that time, she lifted Hana on her back and made a run for it. She’d never used the jutsu in battle before, however she hoped that it bought her some time. The Anbu must have been behind this massacre, meaning that they couldn’t be trusted. She had to get out of here with Hana and get help, immediately. She almost made it to the entrance gates when she was surrounded by a group of five Anbu.

Tora looked around at all of the shinobi surrounding her and knew that she wasn’t going to make it out of this one. Tears streamed down her face as she felt Hana’s weight on her and she immediately apologized to her best friend because if she hadn’t insisted on bringing her here, none of this would’ve happened. If this was it, then she might as well speak her piece. “Why did you kill her? Why did you kill Izumi?!”

The Anbu stayed silent which only further angered Tora. Her eyes were still animalistic and she couldn’t contain her fear-induced rage any longer. “I’m going to avenge her! I’m going to kill every last one of you! I swear on my-”

Behind the mask of the head Anbu, a Sharingan swirled into effect and Tora immediately stopped talking. Stunned, her eyes slowly went back to normal before everything went black and she collapsed to the ground in unconsciousness.

“Should we report this to the Hokage as well?”

“No, they’re just a bunch of lost kids. I’ll take care of it.”


	7. A New Resolve

Blood. There was blood everywhere. Why was everything drowning in warm crimson? Where was Itachi?

Tora woke up with a gasp and immediately sat up, her body covered in sweat. She clutched her shirt over her chest as she tried to calm her breathing to no avail. Something happened yesterday, but everything was blurry. That dream just now… She could feel a headache forming as she thought about it.

Suddenly, everything hit her. She had left her room last night and went to the Uchiha compound with Hana. That’s where she saw red and… Izumi… Covering her mouth with her hand, she raced to the bathroom across the hall and collapsed over the toilet, emptying anything her stomach had left. Unfortunately, the images of the bodies she had seen kept reappearing in her mind. However, what she couldn’t piece together was how she got back to her room; everything went blank after she and Hana left Izumi’s house.

Once she had nothing left to regurgitate, she sat back against the cool wall and tried to contain herself. Why couldn’t she remember anything? The layout of yesterday came across her mind again, however the scene changed - the environment was more rocky and there was a heavy mist, like she was surrounded by clouds. Bodies were dropping like flies around her and someone kept yelling at her not to stop. She was there and she could feel the fear as her body was shaking. There was no way this wasn’t real.

“Tora? Are you home?” A voice called, however the said female was still frozen against the wall in her daydream, drenched in a cold sweat. In her dream she was still running, but she was younger - much younger. She was being told to just keep running and as she glanced at the hand that was holding hers, her eyes traveled up their arm and to their face, which was her mother’s. Hana walked upstairs and immediately dropped to her best friend’s side once she located her. Tora looked like she had seen a ghost and automatically, the Inuzuka was concerned. “Hey, Tora… Earth to Tora…”

Blinking, Tora tried to force the images out of her head as a strong headache came out. Holding her head, she glanced to her side and saw the worry on Hana’s face. Not saying anything, she leaned over and laid her head on the Inuzuka’s shoulder. Tears rolled down her cheeks, however she couldn’t determine whether they were coming from the fact that she was facing the inevitable of Izumi’s death or the unknown thoughts she just saw. After a while, Hana wiped her eyes of her own tears and spoke up to break the silence.

“A few days ago, we went to the Uchiha compound, and we saw Izumi… resting peacefully in her bed.” Hana started, telling herself more than she was telling Tora. “All the members of the Uchiha are dead, besides one - Sasuke Uchiha. They’re holding a funeral today. I understand if you don’t-”

“We should go.” Tora mumbled. “After all, Izumi was our friend and she was my teammate…”

Hana looked at her best friend sorrowfully. “Tora, there’s more. About how it happened, they’re saying that it was a homicide and...”

“I don’t want to hear about that right now, Hana.” Tora stood up and walked out of the bathroom to go to her room. “I just want to pay my respects to Izumi and Ms. Mikoto.”

With a frown, Hana watched Tora go before getting up herself. Normally she would’ve continued, however she decided that she would let it go for now. Today would be about celebrating the life of their friend so she left to get dressed. Once she and Tora were dressed in all black, they made their way to the burial grounds. The sun was shining brightly, which greatly contrasted the mood surrounding the day.

There weren’t many people at the funeral; a couple of shinobi were sparsely covering the area and there were some villagers who probably knew some of the Uchiha personally. As Tora approached Izumi’s gravestone, she frowned at the newly cut rock that had ‘Izumi Uchiha’ engraved on the front. It was way too soon for this to be made for her. She must have known something was going to happen when they were talking at the barbeque restaurant. How could she do this? Why was the only thing that she said to her, ‘thank you’? Who does this and then leaves without saying goodbye?

Hana held Tora’s hand as she also looked down at the gravestone. Tears brimmed in the Inuzuka’s eyes as she thought of her memories with Izumi and wished there could have been more. Glancing over, she noticed that a familiar face had joined them - Koji. The male didn’t look at her but she didn’t press it as she looked away. Koji looked over at Tora’s hunched over figure and could tell she was trying to hold it together. Placing one hand in his pocket, he reached over and held her free hand with his own. Feeling the presence of her friends, Tora began to shake as she squeezed her friends’ hands and cried, her tears falling into the grass.

“How sad… I’m sure his parents are rolling over in their graves right now.” Some villagers passed by the group. “To think that a family member could be capable of doing something so horrendous.”

Tora’s eyes widened as she overheard their conversation. Standing up straight, she turned around to face the group. “Excuse me, what are you talking about?”

One of the villagers turned back to Tora with a shake of their head. “Oh, you didn’t know? A member of the clan killed everyone off in one night, besides his kid brother. It’s really a shame.”

Time seemed to stop in that moment as she heard their words. Killed everyone besides his kid brother…? Her mind thought back to what Hana had told her earlier about all the members being dead besides Sasuke Uchiha. That meant that… Itachi did this? It was a lie, it had to be a lie; there was no way Itachi would do any of this. To his brother, to his parents, to Izumi? “You’re lying.”

“Tora..” Hana started to speak as she saw the hurt in her friend’s eyes.

“Lying? Pft, you can ask the kid yourself.” The villager said haughtily. “All of the shinobi here are the same. They’ll kill eventually - it’s their job. They’ll even kill their own family at the end of the day for a paycheck.”

“Say it again, I dare you.” Tora let go of her friends’ hands and clenched her fist. “I said say it again!”

Before the villager could say anything, the female lunged forward and Koji and Hana immediately stepped in to hold her back as she fought against them. There was no way Itachi would do this. Where was he? Why wasn’t he here? Why wasn’t he defending himself? “Let me go! Itachi wouldn’t do anything like this! You’re all wrong!” Was she wrong? Did she not know Itachi at all? 

“Tora, calm down!” Hana cried as the villagers left to avoid any danger.

“You’re all liars! I’m going to find out the truth!” Tora pulled herself out of her captors’ grasps and turned to face them. “I’m going to prove his innocence, even if it kills me.” With a strong determination in her eyes, she turned away from Hana and Koji and left the funeral grounds.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

“We’re a couple kilometers away from Amegakure. Once we get there, you’re going to meet up with your other team member and I won’t see you until the end of the exam, alright?” Hayama-sensei explained as his team traveled. Koji and Tora nodded as they proceeded to jump from tree limb to limb.

Once the village came in view, they opted to walk instead. The roads were barren as the forest thinned out and all that was left was a large lake followed by an array of tall buildings covered in metal pipes. The architecture was a lot different from Konoha and Tora was intrigued, but at the same time she was cautious since it was a new environment.

As she and Koji entered the village, they were immediately checked by security and escorted to where they would be staying. It had been a few weeks after the Uchiha Massacre and, although they were still recuperating, the chunin exams weren’t going to wait for anyone. Team F was taken to a general hotel room with the basic necessities - a small kitchen area, two bedrooms, and a common area.

“Do not leave the room unless we come back to take you to the exam site.” The escort spoke briefly before closing the door.

Tora walked over to the window, looking out at the buildings around them in awe. “The village aesthetic here is pretty cool, don’t you think? Are you ready to ace these exams?”

“I should be asking you that question.” Koji rolled his eyes as he moved so he was standing next to her. “We never had a chance to talk about anything after what happened and I want us to be on the same page.”

“The same page for what?”

“Izumi.”

Tora turned her head so she was looking at her teammate. Seeing how serious he was, her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. “You think Itachi-san did it, don’t you?”

“I do.” Koji nodded. “There are too many reports that say the same thing, however, before you lash out on me… I don’t think he did it without a reason; he’s not a psychopath. I noticed that after what happened with him and my brother.”

“I won’t believe it unless he tells me face to face.” She clenched her fists. “I was serious about what I said in the graveyard.”

Realizing that Tora was not going to change her mind, Koji frowned. “I know and I’m not going to try and deter your mind, however for now, you shouldn’t be so vocal about it. That’s how you get a target on your back. I’m already worried about you enough as it is. I don’t think the Uchiha incident is the only thing that’s troubling you.”

“You have nothing to worry about.” Tora told him firmly. “I’m fine.”

“Tora-”

The door opened to the room and a male with short black hair covered mostly by a bandana that sported the Konoha seal. Once the escort told him the same message and closed the door, the leftover trio looked back at each other. “You two must be Koji Izumo and Tora Dakuo. My name is Yatogo Ryugen and I’ll be your teammate for the exams.” He took a sealed scroll out of his pocket that contained his details and handed it to Koji to confirm his identity.

“So you’re pretty decent with genjutsu?” Koji asked after he gave the scroll back. “That must be why they chose you to join us.”

“Most likely. Of course, I was able to get some information on you all as well.” Yatogo nodded. “That Izumi girl was also good with genjutsu. It’s a shame what happened to her. To think that someone would kill her and their other family members out of spite like that. I heard the clan grounds were brutal; the work of a trained assassin and traitor.”

Tora narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. Her eyes acquired an animalistic glare and she immediately walked over to him. Before Koji could grab her, she had grabbed Yatogo’s collar and pulled him closer to her so he was staring directly into her eyes. “I don’t care what you thought you heard, but you shouldn’t be spreading rumors. We’re here for one thing only. If you get in my way with that load of crap, you better be prepared to face the consequences.”

There was a sudden knock on the door and the Amegakure escort was welcomed with a very tense atmosphere. Ignoring the obvious pressure, they rounded the trio together and took them to the site of the first exam - the Written test. It was in a big open room with three desks spaced out in the middle. Seeing as they were just going to take it alone, Tora wondered what the other competition looked like.

The test was tedious, she could give them that. There were over a hundred questions about techniques, scenarios, and academics. There was no cheating allowed and the desks were too spread out for her to attempt to take a peek at Koji or Yatogo’s papers. At the end, they were separated and brought into a small room with the examiner, an Amegakure shinobi by the name of Reitarou. He was a tall, broad male who donned the rebreathers most Amegakure shinobi had, however his presence was much more intimidating.

Koji and Yatogo had gone first, so Tora was the last to enter the room. There were no chairs so she stood and faced the male in front of her. Her mind was a little exhausted from all of the prior questions, however she stood firm, knowing that this was probably the end of the first exam.

“I’ll ask you the final question for the first exam. The only choices are yes and no. Your answer will determine whether you and your team will move forward to the next section. Once you answer, you may leave.” Reitarou explained. After Tora agreed, he spoke again. “You’re given the mission of eliminating your family for the sake of the village’s wellbeing. Will you complete the task?”

Tora stepped back in shock as the question. What type of question was this? It had to be a trick, right? The logical answer would be to say yes because the village is your priority as a shinobi, but… could she really do it? Could she really throw away her morals for the sake of the village? Could she really destroy her support system because a piece of paper told her to?

“...No.” Tora finally answered. “There are too many holes in that question. Shinobi aren’t mindless zombies that just follow every order blindly. My answer may change depending on the circumstances, but even so… I don’t think I could.”

“You may leave.”

An escort opened the door and lead Tora out of the room. As they headed back to the hotel, she thought more on the question. There was no way there could be a simple yes or no resolution to that problem. What if she just compromised her team’s success in the exams because she said she couldn’t do it. Was she not mentally strong enough to take on a task like that? Then it dawned on her.

Was that what Itachi had to do?

Shaking her head, Tora quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. There was no way. She didn’t believe, no, she couldn’t believe that he had to make that kind of decision. Was he really put in that position all by himself? How could he do that? How could someone do that to him? Of course, everything was just an assumption but… some of it didn’t feel that way.

Tora’s eyes widened and she immediately turned around, looking up at the tallest tower in Amegakure. No, she was only kidding herself… There was no way…

“Ms. Dakuo, please refrain from stopping until we reach the destination.” The escort interrupted her thoughts.

With one last lingering look towards the tower, Tora turned around and mumbled an apology to the escort before starting to walk towards the hotel again. As they continued walking, a flock of ravens scattered from the top of the tower, cawing as they flew away.


	8. So Many Revelations

It had only been a couple of hours since the Written Exam was completed. Team F was back at their hotel room awaiting the results and next steps. While Koji and Yatogo were in the common area exchanging small talk, Tora was sitting by the wall in her bedroom, looking out the window. The female pulled her knees to her chest as she watched the rain fall from the thick, dark clouds in the sky.

If Izumi were here, she would ask her to play cards or something. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt as if everything happened yesterday. It just felt so unfair and she couldn’t find the pieces of the puzzle to make sense of it all.

A knock against the doorframe to her room interrupted her thoughts and Tora turned her head to see Koji standing in the doorway. There was a soft frown across his features and immediately, she knew that he was worrying about her.

“Do you want to eat something before it gets too late?” The gray haired male asked as he looked down at her.

Tora sighed as she mulled it over before smiling at him. “As long as it’s not eel.”

Koji’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of her smile - something he hadn’t seen from her in a while. Hearing her words, he let out a small laugh. “Yeah, definitely not that.”

Tora stood up and joined Koji and Yatogo in the common area. They ate the pre-packaged takeout that was given to them by their escorts in awkward silence. Although the two males in the room had seemed to come to an agreement, Tora had not spoken to the newcomer since their altercation before the beginning of the first exam. Clearing her throat, Tora decided to break the silence.

“I wanted to apologize for my earlier actions, Yatogo-san.” She spoke up. “I have a bit of a temper and I let it out on you.

“Well, it wasn’t uncalled for… I was a bit presumptuous myself…” Yatogo rubbed the back of his neck.

Tora shrugged. “You were.” Koji kicked her shin underneath the table and she hissed, rolling her eyes. “What? I’m just being honest. I’m not going to hold it against him.”

“Let’s just go to bed and prepare for whatever test they’ll make us do tomorrow.” Koji stood up from the table. “Regardless, we’re a team now so we need to focus and work together. No questionable shared information.” He looked at Yatogo before turning to Tora. “And no snarky side comments. We need to act like a team now, not later.” Agreeing with him, the teens turned in for the night.

The next morning, Team F was escorted to the testing site, which was a rooftop on the other side of Amegakure. Their exam was simple wordwise - capture the scroll. One team would protect the scroll on defense and the other would be the retrieval team. By the luck of the draw, Team F was on the offense. A horn blew in the distance, signalling that the exam started. The three immediately scattered.

Their objectives were to find the target, then neutralize them. Since they were training to be a tracking/ambush team, it was almost like this exam was made for them. Koji was the first to determine the location of their prey. They were inside an abandoned building with no windows. Signalling his teammates to join him, they quickly made a plan to get the scroll. Yatogo was going to cause a distraction with his genjutsu first, Koji would subdue the subordinates, and Tora would go in for the final kill. Making good on their plan, the trio dispersed again and started on their attack.

Yatogo moved in through the back door and looked around before moving forward down a short hallway. The opening led to a spacious warehouse room where their targets were in the center of the room with their backs to each other to cover every scope. From their headbands, it was clear that they were from Takigakure. All three of the shinobi looked a couple years older than them and were definitely on the more muscular side. Honestly, from the outside, the matchup looked illegal - a bunch of kids against grown men.

“We’re going up against a bunch of muscleheads? What do you think they ate for breakfast?” Yatogo smirked.

“Little boys like you.” Tora automatically answered, causing the male to roll his eyes at her comment. Koji reached out and pinched the girl’s side as a warning. “Ow! Are we not allowed to joke either? Stop being a stickler.”

“Focus and be professional.” Koji ignored her protest and turned his attention to Yatogo. “Are you ready to commence, Ryugen-san?” The latter nodded and formulated a few hand signs. Once his first layer was established, he moved forward with the second layer as the terrain started to change in the eyes of their enemy. Once they were distracted, Koji rushed in and disarmed the first guy with complete precision before moving onto his teammate. Tora sunk down to all fours and silently eyed the last available target with a predatory smirk along the scroll sticking out of his tool pouch. All she had to do was sink her teeth into him one good time and he’d be out for the count. Finally, Koji gave her the signal to end their exam.

Jumping out from behind the wall, Tora made a beeline and was about to pounce on the man when he suddenly looked straight at her and took her attack head-on. Locking onto her wrists, he used brute strength to swing her body towards the ceiling. Shifting her chakra, she landed on her feet upside and glared at the man. Their plan had been flawless - a standard ambush. Did that idiot mess up his genjutsu?

“There’s no way you saw through that! My technique was near perfect!” Yatogo clenched his fist as he stepped out from behind the wall.

“Shocked? I had a feeling you would choose the most obvious trick in the book with a genjutsu. Unfortunately for you, I’m blind so all that doesn’t work on me. You’re looking for this, right?” The leader smirked and pulled out the scroll. No sooner had he shown the merchandise, he swallowed it whole, much to the horror of the three teens. Tora dropped down on the ground in a crouched position by Yatogo.

“What the… How am I supposed to get the scroll now?” Tora hissed quietly.

Yatogo shrugged. “Well you can’t kill him due to the rules so there’s only two ways to get it out.”

“You can’t do anything else? Genjutsu is supposed to be your specialty.” She glanced in his direction.

“I, uh… I’m only proficient in visible sensory genjutsu. I’m still learning everything else.” He admitted. Tora’s eyes widened in disbelief, but before she could lash out on him, she moved out of the way as the first teammate Koji had taken down lunged for them.

The blind man turned his attention in Tora’s direction. “Guess it’s just you and me, girlie.”

Narrowing her eyes, Tora lowered her stance as she pushed the thought of their failed ambush out of her head. It was too late to have any regrets now; she could only focus on the challenge in front of her. Making the first move, she was quick and agile. Every jab she made, it was as if he could predict them as he blocked each one perfectly. She found herself trying to calm herself down as she was getting frustrated that she couldn’t land a good hit on him. In her moment of weakness, he landed a direct hit against her left side and knocked her back into the wall. She coughed up a bit of blood as she fell onto her hands and knees.

“Tora!” Koji looked over in her direction. In a burst of adrenaline, he tried to finish off his opponent so he could get to her side, however it wasn’t possible. They were going up against formidable opponents who obviously had more experience on their side versus the years of training Team F had received. None of these fights were going to come out of a textbook.

“What’s the matter, girlie?” The blind man sounded amused as he started walking towards her. “Your problem is you’re too loud; I can hear your next attack coming from a mile away. Don’t fret though. Go home, train some more, and you can come back during the next exams. That is… if you’re still alive to participate.”

She never had this problem before. Her speed wasn’t working. Her taijutsu wasn’t good enough. If her teammate’s genjutsu didn’t work, then her attempt wouldn’t make the cut either. How could she run out of options? She had to be faster… She had to will herself to be faster… There was no other way.

“I want to feel more of your lackluster attempts. Fight me.” The man swung his leg to kick her in her chest, but Tora jumped back away from him, holding her side. There was no doubt in her mind that she had broken a bone or two as her side was bruised and swollen. “There’s no time limit, but don’t make it boring! Let’s up the ante, shall we?” He formed a couple of hand signs and suddenly, the room started to flood with water. It was evident that he didn’t care about his team members as their bodies were engulfed in the currents.

Koji appeared next to Tora’s side and pulled her with him, joining Yatogo on the ceiling. Forming a few hand signs himself, he administered some first aid medical ninjutsu to reduce the swelling and take away some of the pain. Yatogo frowned as it was evident the man was pulling water from the rain outside. It was already bad enough that he insanely ate the scroll and they wouldn’t be able to hide on the ceiling forever.

“His senses are way too heightened for us to be able to do anything to him.” Yatogo whispered as he bit his thumbnail in thought. His voice was enough for the male to notice their position and launch a blast of water in their direction. Immediately, the three teens scattered. Focused only on the opponent in front of her, Tora decided to take matters into her own hands. This was her job in their plan, so she had to be the one to defeat him. She couldn’t drag her team down now.

Faster...

Tora jumped from the ceiling towards the man, only to be thrown away.

Faster… Faster...

She jumped again, pushing her chakra to her legs. Again, she was thrown away into the water. Koji signalled for her to stop so they could regroup, but she ignored him. There was no way she could lose here. Her body had to move faster.

Faster… Faster… Faster!

Before Tora could try again, Koji jumped down to stop her. Their opponent smirked and created a whirlpool of water. No sooner had Koji landed, he was engulfed in the rising torrent. Yatogo and Tora watched in fear as their teammate was brought back to the deranged man. As the water leveled out, Koji was held by his throat in the air. He clawed against the man’s iron grip to no avail.

“Come on, girlie! I have years over you. You don’t know the first thing about the world of shinobi.” The man laughed as he watched Koji squirm and struggle to breathe. “Don’t worry. I’ll be the one to teach you with our delightful volunteer.”

Rage immediately enveloped the female as her nails sharpened into claws and her eyes glowed amber as she readied herself to attack again. It was obvious what his threat was. It was clear to see that this was a trap. Everything rational, however, escaped her mind as all she could see was red. If she lost him too, she wouldn’t be able to bear it. Koji was all she had left of her home away from home.

“Tora, don’t!” Koji croaked out. “Stay away!”

The female growled, everything went white, and, in an instant, everything was over. The water slowly started to seep out of the building and the bodies from the other two men were lying limp on the floor. Their main opponent was on the ground in a small crater with his eyes rolled into the back of his head, clearly unconscious as he was still breathing. Tora was on top of him, breathing heavily and shuddering from the adrenaline. The scroll was laying a few feet in front of them, no doubt from being launched out of the man’s throat. Eyes widening from the shock as she checked back into reality, Tora immediately looked around for Koji.

“Tora… When did you…?” His voice spoke and she turned around, his surprised eyes meeting her equally expressive ones. A horn blew in the distance, signalling that their exam was over.

“That was absolutely amazing!” Yatogo ran over to the two. “I saw the whole thing from the ceiling! There was a huge flash and then, boom! It was all over. It was like you disappeared and reappeared out of nowhere! Like a jolt of lightning! None of this was mentioned on the information scroll I received! Which parent do you get your lightning nature from, Tora?”

The words seemed to go in one ear and out the other as she tried to process everything that had happened. 

....Lightning?

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

“Listen to me, Tora.” A woman with short, charcoal gray hair squatted down so she was eye level with the child in front of her. “When we start moving, whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand and keep running.”

“Mommy, where are we going?”

Five year old Tora stared up at her mother with wide, expectant eyes. The way her mother was speaking, she knew something was wrong. A loud, thunderous crash sounded outside and a rush of smoke flooded their home. A warm hand grabbed hers and she was pulled deeper into the house and down a case of stairs. The child could feel clean air fill her lungs as the smoke started to clear out, however she couldn’t enjoy it. Another loud crash happened and she let out a squeak of surprise.

“Don’t stop, Tora. We have to go.” Her mother instructed and Tora nodded, however her mind wandered.

“What about Grandma and Grandpa? Aren’t they coming too?” Tora asked as she looked back into the darkness. The underground pathway they were running in was so pitch black, she couldn’t even see her mother who was beside her. The only way she knew she wasn’t alone was through feeling her mother’s hand gripping hers. “And where’s Auntie Habana?”

Her mother didn’t answer her and continued pulling her along, the child barely being able to keep up. A strong rush of adrenaline overcame Tora as she heard a couple more explosions in the distance, her ears ringing from the sound. She was scared and her lungs were on fire, but their footsteps did not cease. Once the two reached the opening of the tunnel, they climbed out and, using a couple of hand signs, her mother resealed it.

Tora stood in horror as she looked out at her home from the outlying mountainside cliff they were on. The grounds were covered in the bodies of her family and fellow clansmen. Her eyes widened as she saw her grandparents being walked out of their house by a couple of ninja in masks. The elders were forced onto their knees and one of the enemy ninja drew their sword. Raising the hilt, there was no hesitation in taking the final swing.

“No, don’t!”

Tora jolted up from her sleep and clutched her chest as she gasped for breath. Her vision was shifting between her nightmare and the darkness of her room. Slowly, she realized that she was just sleeping. Earlier that day, her team had passed the second round of the chunin exams. Once again, she had another dream and there was no doubt in her mind that the two were connected. Something happened to her and her mother, but for some reason, she couldn’t remember all of the details. 

Suddenly, her breath hitched in her throat as she fell back into reality. There was someone else in the room. With her free hand, she grabbed the hilt of the kunai laying next to her leg. In one swift move, Tora threw the tool at the back right corner of the room by the window. Immediately throwing her blanket up as a diversion, she darted for the door to escape, only for a body to block her exit and a cool hand covering her mouth. The female grabbed the wrist of her attacker and flung his body down on the futon. Unbeknownst to her, their roles had changed and he shifted his weight, causing her to fall first so he could pin her down.

“Don’t move, Dakuo-san.”

That voice… It was familiar. Stunned, Tora looked up at the male over top of her. It was still dark in the room, but the soft light from the moon outside illuminated her aggressor’s face. “...Itachi-san?”

“I don’t believe this is an appropriate position to talk in. If I let you go, will you stay put and keep your voice down?” Itachi requested. Once she nodded, he pulled back and sat down on one end of the futon. Slowly, Tora sat up as she watched him. There were so many questions running through her head that she couldn’t think straight. How are you doing? Where have you been? Have you been eating? Finally, her lips started to formulate her most urgent question.

“Do you regret it?”

It had been on her mind for a while now, ever since the funeral. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the voice in the back of her head kept telling her that all the townspeople were right. That Koji was right. That her suspicion was right. Of course, there had to be a logical reason for it; something happened behind the scenes that she wasn’t aware of for the consequences to be this grand.

Itachi looked back at Tora, directly in her eyes. They were filled with more concern than pity. Even if his face didn’t show it, he was surprised by her question. She didn’t outright accuse him of murder, nor did she try to turn him into some kind of psychopath. What was she trying to do? What was she getting out of this?

“I had to do what needed to be done.” He answered, looking away from her.

Tora frowned at his answer. “Itachi-san, I won’t believe it unless you tell me straight. Don’t beat around the bush. I know what everyone has been spreading isn’t the full truth because that’s not you. That’s not the Itachi-san that I remember. I promised Izumi-”

“What they are saying is the truth.” Itachi interrupted her, looking back at her. “I killed them all by myself, Dakuo-san. I trusted the process and succeeded. I don’t know what you think of me, but you don’t understand me and you never will.”

Tora shook her head in denial. “That’s not fair! You’re not a cold-hearted killer. There’s no way someone who could cry tears at their teammate’s gravestone, someone who could have so much love and positive influence over their brother, someone who could make me like them…” Her voice trailed off once she realized she was pushing all of her beliefs onto him. She understood now… what it was like to see someone for what you wanted them to be versus who they really are. Maybe she really didn’t know him after all… If that was the case, then why did her intuition keep telling her otherwise?

“Don’t defend me and stop looking for me.” Itachi stood up to take his leave. He appreciated her belief in him; it was nice to know that there was someone looking out for him. Unfortunately, this was his fight and no one else’s. For her safety, it was best that their relationship ended here. She had a life to live, whereas he had an unknown death sentence that only time could tell. “Thank you, Tora.”

Before Tora could say anything else, his body disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> It's been a minute since I've updated this story and I'm truly sorry! Before, I didn't know where I wanted this story to head, but I believe I have a clearer picture now.
> 
> This story is partly on hiatus, however I will be focusing more on it. Thank you all for your kind words, love, and support.
> 
> See you again!
> 
> \- Mira


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